Slender-billed Thornbill
Encyclopedia
The Slender-billed Thornbill (Acanthiza iredalei) is a small bird native to Australia. It includes three separate sub-species:
This thornbill can be found in shrubland
s and salt marsh
es, typically those around salt lakes or low heath
on sand plains. It eats mostly insects and spiders captured in the shrubs of its habitat. It rarely feeds on the ground, preferring instead the higher elevations of shrubs and trees.
The Slender-billed Thornbill is rarely observed alone. They are usually seen in flocks of approximately eight birds or in pairs. Thornbill nests are small and built in low shrubs. They are constructed of grass, bark, cobwebs, and other shrubland debris. Females lay up to three eggs during the breeding season, which runs from July until November.
bioregion. The hedleyi subspecies ranges across eastern Australia, and the rosinae subspecies can be found in southern Australia.
. The hedleyi subspecies, whose territory includes most of eastern Australia, is considered Near Threatened
. The iredalei subspecies is also considered Vulnerable.
The thornbill (iredalei subspecies) is extinct
in northern Australia, and is considered the only indigenous species to have become extinct in that location since European settlement.
- A. i. hedleyi
- A. i. iredalei
- A. i. rosinae
This thornbill can be found in shrubland
Shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub or brush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity...
s and salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es, typically those around salt lakes or low heath
Heath (habitat)
A heath or heathland is a dwarf-shrub habitat found on mainly low quality acidic soils, characterised by open, low growing woody vegetation, often dominated by plants of the Ericaceae. There are some clear differences between heath and moorland...
on sand plains. It eats mostly insects and spiders captured in the shrubs of its habitat. It rarely feeds on the ground, preferring instead the higher elevations of shrubs and trees.
The Slender-billed Thornbill is rarely observed alone. They are usually seen in flocks of approximately eight birds or in pairs. Thornbill nests are small and built in low shrubs. They are constructed of grass, bark, cobwebs, and other shrubland debris. Females lay up to three eggs during the breeding season, which runs from July until November.
Description
The thornbill ranges from 9 to 10 centimeters in length. The colour of its back ranges from olive-grey to a darker olive-brown. The base of its tail is olive-yellow. Its underbelly is a smooth cream colour, and it has a dark bill and pale eyes.Distribution and habitat
The Slender-billed Thornbill iredalei subspecies has six separate and isolated populations in Western Australia, and a large population in the CarnarvonCarnarvon (biogeographic region)
Carnarvon is an Interim Biogeographic Regionalisation for Australia region in Western Australia. This area is also referred to physiographically as the Carnarvon Basin, where it is a physiographic province of the larger West Australian Shield division....
bioregion. The hedleyi subspecies ranges across eastern Australia, and the rosinae subspecies can be found in southern Australia.
Broad status
The rosinae subspecies, most commonly found in Gulf St Vincent, is considered VulnerableVulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
. The hedleyi subspecies, whose territory includes most of eastern Australia, is considered Near Threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
. The iredalei subspecies is also considered Vulnerable.
The thornbill (iredalei subspecies) is extinct
Extinction
In biology and ecology, extinction is the end of an organism or of a group of organisms , normally a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and recover may have been lost before this point...
in northern Australia, and is considered the only indigenous species to have become extinct in that location since European settlement.
Victoria
- The Slender-billed Thornbill (A. i. hedleyi) is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. Under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has not been prepared.
- On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, this species is listed as Near Threatened.