Western Whipbird
Encyclopedia
The Western Whipbird is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations across southern Australia
. It is predominantly olive green in colour.
A slim bird some 21 - 25 cm in length, it is olive green with a black throat and a narrow white cheek-patch edged with black on its face. It has a small crest and a long dark olive-green tail tipped with white, its underparts are a paler olive colour. The bill is black with blackish feet. Juveniles are a duller olive-brown in colour and lack the white cheek stripes and dark throat.
Breeding occurs in spring; a bowl of twigs and sticks lined with softer material such as grasses, located in shrubs or trees less than 1-2 m above the ground. A clutch of two eggs, pale blue with blackish splotches and spots, measuring 26 x 19 mm.
Four subspecies are recognised, though one has been considered by some to have specific status as the Mallee Whipbird (P. leucogaster). All are under threat to some degree.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. It is predominantly olive green in colour.
A slim bird some 21 - 25 cm in length, it is olive green with a black throat and a narrow white cheek-patch edged with black on its face. It has a small crest and a long dark olive-green tail tipped with white, its underparts are a paler olive colour. The bill is black with blackish feet. Juveniles are a duller olive-brown in colour and lack the white cheek stripes and dark throat.
Breeding occurs in spring; a bowl of twigs and sticks lined with softer material such as grasses, located in shrubs or trees less than 1-2 m above the ground. A clutch of two eggs, pale blue with blackish splotches and spots, measuring 26 x 19 mm.
Four subspecies are recognised, though one has been considered by some to have specific status as the Mallee Whipbird (P. leucogaster). All are under threat to some degree.
- P. n. lashmari: (Rare) The Kangaroo Island subspecies is endemic to Kangaroo IslandKangaroo IslandKangaroo Island is Australia's third-largest island after Tasmania and Melville Island. It is southwest of Adelaide at the entrance of Gulf St Vincent. Its closest point to the mainland is off Cape Jervis, on the tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula in the state of South Australia. The island is long...
, being found in mallee there. - P. n. leucogaster: (Vulnerable) The Eastern mallee subspecies is found in scattered populations in mallee country on Northwestern VictoriaVictoria (Australia)Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
and southern South AustraliaSouth AustraliaSouth Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. - P. n. nigrogularis: (Endangered) The Western heath subspecies is now restricted to a small patch east of AlbanyAlbany, Western AustraliaAlbany is a port city in the Great Southern region of Western Australia, some 418 km SE of Perth, the state capital. As of 2009, Albany's population was estimated at 33,600, making it the 6th-largest city in the state....
, having disappeared from large parts of its range due to land clearance. - P. n. oberon: (Rare) The Western mallee subspecies is found in scattered populations between the Stirling Ranges and Ravensthorpe. It is apparently common in the Fitzgerald River National ParkFitzgerald River National ParkFitzgerald River National Park is a national park in Western Australia , southeast of Perth, in the Shire of Ravensthorpe and the Shire of Jerramungup....
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Cited text
- Garnett, S. (1993) Threatened and Extinct Birds Of Australia. RAOU. National Library, Canberra. ISSN 0812-8014