Slender-billed Thornbill
Acanthiza iredalei
Small bird with thin pointed bill, found in coastal marshes, heath, and around salt lakes from southern Western Australia to southern South Australia. Grayish brown above, pale with faint speckling on chest below, with pale eye and faint pale-and-dark grizzling in face. Dark tail contrasts with paler rump. Forages in small flocks in understory bushes and also on the ground.
Identification
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.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Acanthiza iredalei
- Authority
- Mathews, 1911
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acanthizidae
- Genus
- Acanthiza
Range and habitat
The slender-billed thornbill iredalei subspecies has six separate and isolated populations in Western Australia, and a large population in the Carnarvon bioregion. The hedleyi subspecies is found in southeastern South Australia and western Victoria, and the rosinae subspecies is most commonly found in the Gulf St Vincent region of South Australia.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
The rosinae subspecies is considered vulnerable. The hedleyi subspecies is considered near threatened. The iredalei subspecies is also considered vulnerable.<p>The slender-billed thornbill (iredalei subspecies) is extinct in northern Australia, and is considered the only indigenous species to have become extinct in that region since European settlement.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Scarce and rather shy antbird of evergreen forest, second growth thickets, and overgrown plantations in humid tropical lowlands. Usually in pairs, on or near the ground, where often accompanies army ant swarms to capture prey flushed by the ants. Male is black with white wingbars with bright blue naked skin on crown and around eyes. Female is rusty brown overall with bright blue naked eyering.
Purple Starling
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