Noisy Scrub-bird
Atrichornis clamosus
Incredibly elusive ground bird, restricted to a tiny range in southern Western Australia, where it inhabits dense forests with heavy understory and abundant leaf litter. Nondescript plumage, mostly brown above, olive-brown below, with pale throat and fine dark vermiculation in wings, back, and flanks. Adult male has some black markings in lower throat and upper breast. More likely to be heard than seen. Most easily distinguished from Western Bristlebird by call. Male’s loud, diverse song repertoire includes long sequences of sharp, clear, musical notes.
Identification
The noisy scrubbird features a dark brown coloured back, rust-like coloured wings and a speckled chestnut colored breast region with a grey-brown or pink bill and brown or silver legs and feet. They vary from 19–23 cm. in length and 25-58 grams. The males are distinguished from the females by exhibiting a black triangle on their throat . They are closely related to the lyrebird, having only evolutionarily separated from them approximately 30-35 million years ago. They prefer feeding upon small invertebrates, such as ants and beetles, in the extremely dense understory and vegetative cover that only occurs after environmental damages.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Atrichornis clamosus
- Authority
- (Gould, 1844)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Atrichornithidae
- Genus
- Atrichornis
Range and habitat
The noisy scrubbird is one of Australia's rarest birds. It was presumed extinct until a population was discovered at Two Peoples Bay, east of Albany in Western Australia in the 1960s. Since then a recovery plan has been put into action. Populations of the bird have been translocated to nearby Bald Island, in Waychinicup National Park, as well as the Porongorup Ranges, where a bushfire had destroyed much of the population. A reason that the noisy scrubbird's populations are so threatened is due to them being a very endemic species with specific living conditions and niche. In addition, they also require very dense leaf litter to feed upon the leaf-degrading invertebrates which they prefer. They typically inhabit areas that have been recovering for approximately 10 years, but there has been reported colonizations as soon as 2 years following the damage. The scrubbird has never been recorded to inhabit an area that has not been burnt or damaged in the previous 50 years. Their known range is approximately 45 km² combined including the Two Peoples Bay and Bald Island populations.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
The noisy scrubbird is listed on the IUCN Red List as an endangered species. The species was presumed extinct when Edwin Ashby searched unsuccessfully at Ellensbrook (Margaret River) in 1920, although he noted a report by a resident of its call and movements in deep karri forest and anticipated it would be rediscovered in similar habitat.<p>The populations of the noisy scrubbird are declining despite 50 years of conservation and management. Major threats include forest fires, predation by introduced species such as foxes, feral cats and black rats, degradation of habitat, soil fungi, introduced mammals, climate change and lack of genetic variation. The management conducted has focused heavily on predation control and gaining data by surveying and radio trackers. While there have been some great successes with the reintroduction and management of the scrubbirds, lightning-induced fires have damaged much of the management progress.<p>The fungi Phytophthora cinnamomi has become more abundant in the scrubbird's range and has the ability to kill and degrade massive amounts of forest, which can heavily affect the diversity of the forest, and could easily and rapidly displace many of the remaining scrubbirds. Forest dieback due to this fungi has been shown to increase the amount of predators in the area, but has not been proven to have any effect on the scrubbird's populations yet.<p>Translocations to native ranges have been attempted several times with little success due to the noisy scrubbird requiring a very specific habitat. These translocations even required the removal of all potential predators for the scrubbird, but still had little success.<p>The best conservation method would be to reintroduce the scrubbird to its native ranges by carefully monitoring the populations and controlling forest fires. A fire event in the few major concentrations of its populations could be detrimental to all previous conservation efforts.
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Brownish-flanked Bush Warbler
Horornis fortipes
Small brown warbler of middle elevations, usually retiring and seldom venturing far from the bushes and short trees from which it gives its distinctive song. Rich, dark brown above and paler gray-brown below, with tawny-brown flanks and pale supercilium. Song a resonant, long whistle followed by a short burst of sharp, bright notes, similar to songs of much larger Manchurian and Japanese Bush Warblers but the whistle is much longer and the following notes not as soft and mellow. Endemic Taiwan subspecies (robustipes) sometimes considered species, called Strong-footed Bush Warbler.
Pectoral Sandpiper
Calidris melanotos
Beefy, medium-sized sandpiper. Brown-toned overall with yellowish legs. Slightly curved bill pale at base. Look for dense breast streaking with abrupt border at white belly. Males are much larger than females, and have a large air sac in the throat which they inflate during breeding display. Plumage and yellow legs might recall Least Sandpiper, but Pectoral is much larger and looks longer-necked. Compare with Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, which is brighter overall and has a more distinct dark cap. Breeds on tundra in the high Arctic. Winters mainly in southern South America, but small numbers also winter in Southeast Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Typically seen in small flocks in muddy marshes or wet grassy habitats, sometimes mixed with other shorebirds. Much less common on open mudflats or beaches. Listen for low, trilled calls.
Rufous-vented Tapaculo
Scytalopus femoralis
A fairly common cloud forest tapaculo found in the eastern Andes of northern and central Peru. Adult is gray with brown bars on the lower underparts. Young birds are browner and extensively marked with buff bars and scales. Similar to Trilling Tapaculo and Junin Tapaculo, and identification should be based on range and voice. Rufous-vented Tapaculo gives sharp chips and low frog-like notes, either alone or in an accelerating series. Inhabits forest understory and usually tough to see.
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