Brown Twinspot

Dark, long-tailed, sparrow-sized bird of dense thickets. Body plumage is mostly dark gray with a bright rufous cap and wings. An uncommon and patchily distributed resident of tepui slopes and lowland forest; often found near large rock formations and in old disturbed areas in rainforest. Stays close to the ground, rarely emerging from dense cover. Occurs in pairs or small family groups that forage unobtrusively for insects and do not follow mixed-species flocks. Voice is only audible at close range but is usually the first indication of this bird’s presence: it is a low, gravelly note, given repeatedly and irregularly, often sped into a rolling churr. Pale-breasted Spinetail has a similar plumage pattern, but McConnell’s is much darker and occupies forested habitats that Pale-breasted avoids.

Small bird of northern Cape York rainforests. Brown above, pale below, with a short tail, long pointed bill, and very thin but distinct white brow. Also distinctive are white-edged black patches on the shoulder. Prefers thick rainforest habitats where it forages in the lower canopy and on the ground.

Heavily patterned terrestrial bird of Western Australia and western South Australia. White eyebrow and moustache, with deep chestnut brown back and intricately patterned wing. Female has white belly and gray chest, male white belly, gray flanks, and black chest and throat. Note gray sides rather than warm brown sides of Cinnamon and Nullarbor quail-thrushes. Usually seen walking around in areas of open woodland and shrubland. Call is a long, high-pitched whistled "seeeep."