Spotted Catbird
Ailuroedus maculosus
Chunky rainforest bird with emerald green upperparts, black spot below the dark red eye, and green-olive underparts with extensive pale spotting. Inhabits the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland (Cairns region), thus does not overlap with similar Green Catbird. Forages mostly in middle and upper story of the rainforest. Compare female and juvenile Satin Bowerbird (with blue eye, darker bill). Spotted Catbird is well known for its characteristic catlike yowling call.
Identification
Spotted catbirds are 26–30 cm. Males weigh 180g and females weigh 168g. Adults have a large, dusky colored head with a blackish cap and black ear-patch. They have mostly bright-green upperparts with heavy olive chevrons and white streaking on the underbody. They have slim white wing bars and a white-tipped green tail. The eye is red and it has a stout, cream colored beak. The legs and feet are dark to bluish grey. Males and females have similar plumage. Their coloring differs from other bowerbirds which have a plumage color pattern consisting of a mixture of two colors of various proportions. The cryptic plumage coloring of the catbird aids in parental care by helping the catbird blend into its surroundings allowing males and females to tend to the nestlings. It may also allow spotted catbirds to spend more time foraging as they blend into the surrounding foliage. Their voice is described as loud with cat-like wailing. They produce a nasal "here-I-arr" call with sharp clicks and three loud cries. They can be heard calling all times of the day especially at dawn and dusk and call more frequently on during cooler temperatures with dewy mornings and after rain.
Taxonomy
The spotted catbird is one of ten species in the genus Ailuroedus, the non bower-building bowerbirds. The noticeable difference between the two Australian dwelling species is the lack of black ear-coverts and reduction in dorsal spotting on A. cassirostris. Molecular evidence suggests Ailuroedus is a sister group to the other bowerbirds, diverging into the only genus within the eight species of Australian bowerbirds that is monogamous and does not build a bower or clear a court for mating. The other bowerbirds are polygynous and make various forms of bowers or create stages for mating. One study revealed the catbirds have a smaller brain for their body size compared to the bower-building species. Until 2016, A. maculosus was considered a subspecies of either A. melanotis, then also named the spotted catbird, or as a subspecies of A. crassirostris (green catbird).
- Scientific name
- Ailuroedus maculosus
- Authority
- Ramsay, EP, 1875
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Ptilonorhynchidae
- Genus
- Ailuroedus
Range and habitat
The spotted catbird is an Australo-Papuan species. It can be found in tropical rainforest and is locally common in its range. Within Australia it has two isolated populations, both located in far north Queensland. One group occurs on Cape York and the other further south in the wet tropics region. The tropical forests of the Bellenden Ker range and adjoining scrub area from Cardwell to Cooktown may be the species "headquarters". Spotted catbirds are a highly specialized rainforest species and in the Australian wet tropics they prefer to nest in well vegetated areas with steep creek slopes and also in forests with Calamus tangles and will nest in the same location year after year. They have a home range of 1-2 hectares and forage about 68 m from their nests.<p>Destruction of their rainforest habitat and rising temperatures could pose a threat to the spotted catbird. There have been attempts at revegetation on the Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland. This has resulted in habitat heterogeneity. These attempts may not be helpful to the habitat specific species. This rainforest fragmentation creates corridors in the attempt to provide habitat for rainforest birds. These corridors are subject to edge effects and go unused by the specialized rainforest species. However, they have been regularly detected in well-established rainforest regrowth in Australia.
Behavior
The following notes were made in regard to the spotted catbird's curious personality, "On entering a scrub from the roadside one may hear a Catbird call perhaps a hundred yards away. The bird will probably call several times in the next few minutes, advancing nearer and each time, until, at last, the bird will be seen arriving on a branch close to the intruder, where it will continue its harah calling at intervals, whilst watching closely its human neighbour. In all probability after a short interval the bird’s mate will arrive in answer to the calls of the first bird." They exhibit arboreal displays similar to other passerines.
Photos
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Rufous-necked Snowfinch
Pyrgilauda ruficollis
Quite brightly-colored for a snowfinch. Pale sandy brown above and white below with an orange crescent on the back of the cheek. May be confused with Blanford’s Snowfinch, but look out for a pair of roughly equal-length black stripes on the face which form a right angle. Found on wide open steppe meadows, pastures, and near human settlements.
Arctic Warbler
Phylloscopus borealis
Dull, relatively unmarked olive-brown warbler with a prominent yellowish-white eyestripe, faint wingbars, and pale whitish underparts. Visually inseparable from Japanese and Kamchatka Leaf Warblers; listen for song, an electric chattery trill. Also gives a metallic two-noted call and a short harsh buzz. Breeds in shrubby areas, often near water, throughout the Eurasian taiga. Breeding range extends to Alaska, where it is the only leaf warbler. Winters in lowland and foothill forest, forest edge, and gardens, primarily in Southeast Asia.
Slaty-legged Crake
Rallina eurizonoides
Small, chickenlike dweller of dense forests and tangled edges. Dark brown above, with orange head and breast and black-and-white-striped sides. Juvenile similar but with brown head and breast, narrower white stripes below. Dark lead-gray legs distinguish this species from Red-legged, Band-bellied, and Ruddy-breasted crakes, which also show different underpart patterns. Sings at night from favored tree perches, a series of doubled hoots that recall Mountain Scops-Owl.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.