White-throated Treecreeper
Cormobates leucophaea
A dark gray-brown treecreeper with very pale throat and chest. Belly strongly streaked white. Viewed from behind, the head and back are the same color. (Red-browed Treecreeper has gray head contrasting with brown back). In flight shows a broad pale wing-bar. Works its way up the trunks of trees. Calls loudly and clearly with a strong piping whistle. Fairly common in wetter forests in southeast Australia.
Identification
Measuring 13–17 cm (5–7 in) in length with a wingspan of 19–26 cm (7.5–10.2 in), averaging 23 cm (9.1 in), and averaging 22 g (0.8 oz) in weight, it has a white throat and breast and barred dark-brown and white belly and flanks. The upperparts and wings are a dark greyish brown, with a buff patch visible on the wings. Unlike other treecreepers, it does not have a pale eyebrow. The bill and feet are black. The female has a pale orange-brown patch on the cheek. Immature birds have an orange-brown rump and white markings on the scapulars. The call is a shrill peeping.
Taxonomy
It was first described by ornithologist John Latham in 1801 as Certhia leucophaea. For many years it was classified in the genus Climacteris.<p>The generic name is derived from the Ancient Greek kormos 'trunk of a tree', and 'batēs' from the verb 'to go' or 'to travel', and refers to its mode of walking up and down trees. Its specific name is derived from the Ancient Greek leuko- 'white' and phaios 'dun' or 'dusky', and refers to its plumage. Some guidebooks have the binomial name written as Cormobates leucophaeus, however a review in 2001 rules that the genus name was feminine, hence leucophaea is the correct specific name.<p>The Papuan treecreeper (Cormobates placens) was previously considered a subspecies but is now recognized as a separate species, although molecular studies have yet to be done on the two taxa.<p>Five subspecies are recognised:
- Scientific name
- Cormobates leucophaea
- Authority
- (Latham, 1801)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Climacteridae
- Genus
- Cormobates
Range and habitat
The white-throated treecreeper is found from the Gulf St Vincent in South Australia, through Victoria, and eastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland, with an area further north from Mount Spec to Cooktown. Wet sclerophyll forest and rainforest is the preferred habitat.<p>It is Protected in Australia under the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Copper Seedeater
Sporophila bouvreuil
Very small finchlike bird with a short bill. Males are unmistakable—mostly cinnamon with a black cap, wings, and tail. Females are brown above and pale below. Both sexes have a white wing spot. Females are difficult to separate from female Pearly-bellied Seedeaters, but they are less gray overall than Pearly-bellied. Found in savannas and grasslands where it is often seen in flocks with other seedeaters.
Oriole Finch
Linurgus olivaceus
Odd and unique member of the waxbill family. Males are yellow and olive-green with a black head; females are olive-green. Both sexes have a pink bill. Males vary geographically in how yellow or olive-green their back is, how much orange they show below, and whether or not they have a yellow collar. Found in and around montane forest, usually in pairs or small groups. Quiet and inconspicuous bird. The call is a sharp “tsik.” Males have a similar pattern to some weavers but are separated by their pink bill. Also similar to orioles, but much smaller.
Carola's Parotia
Parotia carolae
A fairly large, short-tailed bird of mid-montane forest canopy. Male is mainly black with white flanks, golden throat, bronzy-scaled chest, white stripe down the forehead and 6 antennalike feathers projecting from the back of the head. Note the yellow eye. Female is gray-brown above and strongly-barred below with a heavy white stripe above the eye. Male dances at a terrestrial court, where it gives one of the most elaborate displays in the bird world. Co-occurs with Lawes’s Parotia but Carola’s male has white flanks and female lacks a black head. One of many different vocalizations is a loud, quavering shriek.
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