Spotted Scrubwren
Sericornis maculatus
Small scrubwren with white eyebrow and pale iris. Has a dark face with a clear white eyebrow and chin stripe. Primarily olive-brown with a black-and-white shoulder patch and paler front. Chin is white with fine black streaking on breast and upper belly. This species is found in southwestern Australia, across the southern coast, to its eastern-most location along Spencer Gulf just north of Adelaide. Found in a wide range of habitats but typically only present where there is reasonably thick undergrowth. It often makes a grumpy buzzing call but also sings a clear musical song. Formerly considered a subspecies of White-browed Scrubwren.
Identification
The spotted scrubwren (Sericornis maculatus) is a bird species native to coastal southern Australia, from Adelaide westwards to Shark Bay in Western Australia. It was formerly considered conspecific with the white-browed scrubwren, and is known to hybridize with that species where their ranges overlap in the Adelaide area. Genetic analysis in a 2018 study of the family found that this taxon was more divergent from the white-browed scrubwren than the Tasmanian or Atherton scrubwrens and hence proposed its reclassification as a species. It was reclassified as a species in 2019.
Taxonomy
Sericornis maculatus includes the following subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Sericornis maculatus
- Authority
- Gould, 1847
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acanthizidae
- Genus
- Sericornis
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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