Eastern Bristlebird
Dasyornis brachypterus
Small, long-tailed terrestrial bird of southeastern New South Wales and ranges on the Queensland border. Mottled grayish brown, paler below, with red eye, reddish wing, pale throat, faint pale supercilium, and long, graduated rusty tail. Dark bristles around bill give this species its name. Runs around on the ground in forested areas with dense understory, as well as in coastal heathland, and rarely seen in flight. Calls include a chirpy whistled "chip chip whirr-eee."
Identification
The eastern bristlebird (Dasyornis brachypterus) is a species of bird in the bristlebird family, Dasyornithidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests, temperate shrubland, and temperate grassland. It is threatened by habitat loss.
Taxonomy
Genus: Dasyornis; Family: Dasyornithidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Dasyornis brachypterus
- Authority
- (Latham, 1801)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Dasyornithidae
- Genus
- Dasyornis
Range and habitat
The eastern bristlebird is very territorial and will often use a distinct, loud melodic song to mark its territory.<p>Surveys have found the bird prefers to live in small, localised populations, and prefer to build their nests on the ground in areas of dense, clumped grasses.<p>An isolated colony was found in the Conondale Range in southeastern Queensland in the 1980s.<p>In late 2021, it was estimated that there were only about 2,500 of the species left in the wild, existing in isolated populations in eastern New South Wales and southern Queensland. There are four separate populations: one in northern NSW and into southern Queensland, including the Border Ranges National Park (around 40 birds); one in the Southern Highlands; one in the Jervis Bay area; and one southern population around the NSW border with Victoria, which includes Nadgee Nature Reserve and Croajingolong National Park.<p>Sites identified by BirdLife International as being important for eastern bristlebird conservation are the Scenic Rim on the border between southern Queensland and northern New South Wales, Budderoo and Barren Grounds, Jervis Bay, and Nadgee to Mallacoota Inlet straddling the border between south-eastern New South Wales and eastern Victoria.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Western Spindalis
Spindalis zena
Uncommon in thickets, forest edge, and gardens, where found mainly at fruiting trees and bushes. Usually in pairs or small flocks, and often quite inconspicuous. Handsome male is unmistakable, with bold head pattern, golden-yellow and dark reddish body plumage, and bold white wing pattern. Female is notably drab, grayish olive overall with a small white mark on the wing, and a ghosting of the male wing pattern.
Scaly-breasted Partridge
Tropicoperdix chloropus
A cryptically-colored ground-dweller without the bright colors and bold head patterns boasted by many of its relatives. Mottled brown overall with a grayish-white face and a speckled orange throat. Forages in dense undergrowth like other partridges, usually in mature foothill and lowland forest. Listen for its song, a series of ascending breathy whistles which culminate in an echoing series of ringing notes. As with many other forest gamebirds, very difficult to see in general; most likely encountered at staked-out blinds, or, if one is lucky, walking quietly along roadsides and clearings at dusk and dawn.
Northern Crombec
Sylvietta brachyura
A small and virtually tailless warbler with a gray-brown back and rufous underparts. There is some geographical variation; the throat can be dull rufous, dull white, or bright white. Always shows a gray-brown eye-line. Found in a wide variety of savanna and woodland habitats. Similar to Red-faced Crombec, but has a strong eye-line, and in the area of overlap, usually shows a bright white throat. The song is a quick, jumbled whistled phrase that varies somewhat across the range. The call is a rapid wooden trill.
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