Green Catbird
Ailuroedus crassirostris
Chunky rainforest bird with emerald green upperparts, dark eye, and green-olive underparts with pale streaking. Inhabits the east coast of Australia from southeastern Queensland to the south coast of New South Wales, thus does not overlap with Spotted Catbird. Forages mostly in middle and upper story of the rainforest. Compare female and juvenile Satin Bowerbird (with blue eye, darker bill). Call a very loud yowl, which sounds just like a cat.
Identification
Green catbirds are a medium-sized stocky bird with long, powerful legs and a long, stout bill. The back, wings and rump are brilliant emerald green, with very conspicuous pure white spots at the tips of the tertiaries and secondaries, which, on the tips of coverts, form two white wing-bars. The tail is brownish emerald with white tips. The head is greenish brown mottled black and finely flecked pale buff. The chest is greenish buff to dull emerald with distinctive short white streaks.<p>The bill is horn coloured and the legs are greyish brown.<p>The iris is bright red in direct sun with a partial white eye-ring.<p>Male and female birds share similar plumage, making it very difficult to distinguish between the sexes. Juvenile birds also have similar plumage, although it is duller. Very young birds have fluffy grey down on their heads (Donaghey. R. 1996).
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ailuroedus crassirostris
- Authority
- (Paykull, 1815)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ptilonorhynchidae
- Genus
- Ailuroedus
Range and habitat
According to The Field Guide to Australian Birds (Michael Morcombe, 2003) (2nd edition), green catbirds are found along the length of the east coast of NSW (in areas of suitable habitat) through to the Cooloola Coast in South East Queensland.<p>The birds are found in subtropical and temperate rainforest and paperbarks, and occasionally in adjacent eucalypt forest.<p>The average home range of the birds is five acres, although this is greatly reduced during breeding season. Breeding territories usually contain several fig trees which regularly produce large amounts of ripe fruit for several months which coincides with the catbird breeding season. Green catbirds drink and bath in pools of water that are found in the crevices of surrounding trees or water courses.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
Although the green catbird is listed as Least Concern on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is listed as Vulnerable in NSW, which is the majority of its range.<p>Although it is widespread and common in its favoured habitat, ongoing clearing of rainforest and paperbark swamps for development is likely to continue to threaten the green catbird in the future.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Royal Cinclodes
Cinclodes aricomae
Medium-sized dark brown bird with a restricted range. Chunky and relatively long-tailed, with a reddish wing contrasting with its dark chocolate brown body, and a white eyebrow and cheek stripe. Found in humid groves of Polylepis trees, where it forages on or near the ground, looking around mossy rocks and roots for its prey. Lacks the small white or cream patch on wing present in similar cinclodes species. Also note the darker brown body and thicker bill than other cinclodes in range.
Buff-banded Bushbird
Cincloramphus bivittatus
A small rufous songbird with a longish tail and a stout bill. Uniform rufous-brown above with a thick buff eyebrow, and pale below with a warm buff wash on throat and breast. Juvenile duller, less rufous, with ill-defined eyebrow. A secretive bird, found singly or in pairs within thickets inside lowland and hill forest. Confined to Timor. Combination of heavy bill, broad buff brow, long tail, unmarked upperparts, and buff wash to throat and breast separates it from all other brown, warbler-like songbirds. Song is a crisp two- to three-note “zwi-chit” or “zi-chiwit.” Also gives trills and grating rattles.
Great Black Hawk
Buteogallus urubitinga
Uncommon in forest, marshes, and mangroves, where usually greatly outnumbered by similar Common Black Hawk. Slightly larger and lankier than Common Black Hawk, with longer legs and tail, and adults of the two species have very different calls in flight. Adult Great Black has 2 white tail bands (1 on Common) and less extensive yellow in face. Immature looks whiter-headed than Common (no big black moustaches), and its longer tail has narrower and more numerous pale bars. Usually warier than Common, which can be quite unconcerned by people.
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