Rufous Songlark
Cincloramphus mathewsi
Plain brownish songbird with faint pale eyebrow and rust-colored rump. Similar female White-winged Triller has white-edged wing panel. Brown Songlark larger, with longer legs and bill and more strongly patterned upperparts. Found across much of Australia, less so in the southeast, in treeless open habitats. Spectacular song includes long sequences of trills and loud electrical phrases, very unlike Brown Songlark.
Identification
The rufous songlark is a medium brown passerine songbird with a pattern of streaks on its feathers. Encyclopædia Britannica describes this bird as "drab and vaguely larklike". It has a dark line through its eye, a pale eyebrow and pale underparts, and a rufous upper tail and rump. A little larger than a house sparrow, the male grows to about 19 cm in length and is larger than the female which reaches only about 16 cm.<p>This species is similar to the brown songlark but males of that species are much larger than those of the rufous songlark. Brown songlark females also lack the rufous rump of the female rufous songlark.
Taxonomy
It is a species of Locustellidae, which includes the grass warblers and grassbirds.<p>The rufous songlark was described by English ornithologist Tom Iredale in 1911. An alternative generic name Cincloramphus is derived from Greek words cinclus/κιγκλος "wagtail" and ramphos/ραμφος "beak", while the specific epithet honours Gregory Mathews.<p>As well as rufous songlark, other common names include red-rumped songlark, rufous singing lark, and skylark.
- Scientific name
- Cincloramphus mathewsi
- Authority
- Iredale, 1911
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Locustellidae
- Genus
- Cincloramphus
Range and habitat
The rufous songlark is common all over mainland Australia, but is uncommon in the northern Top End of the Northern Territory (Goodfellow & Stott, 2001; 2005). and rare on the island of Tasmania. The overall range of the songlark is thought to be in the order of between 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 km2. C. mathewsi is most often found in New South Wales, Queensland, and Western Australia. Each year the rufous songlark spends colder months in the north and migrates south in the summer to breed, and in this way it is typically seen only in the warmer months.
- Breeding range
- AU : Australia (except far n and Tasmania), breeding mostly in s
- Non-breeding range
- to c Australia
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The rufous songlark hunts close to the ground for the insects and other small arthropods upon which it feeds. The bird can be found in grasslands, grassy open woodlands, agricultural areas, and mulga that it favors as a habitat. Living in areas populated by humans, it sometimes ends up as road kill.<p>Outside the breeding period these birds form small flocks of up to two dozen individuals. In the breeding season the lively, unmistakable song of the male rufous songlark is heard almost continuously. He chirps and curves his back while going on slow, showy "display flights" between trees. The distinctive "twitchy tweedle" song of the rufous songlark has been included on CDs of "Favourite Australian Birdsong". Without help from the male, the female bird builds a deep nest of grass sheltered amid grass or low vegetation. She also incubates the eggs and raises the fledglings herself.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Chlorostilbon lucidus
Small green hummingbird found in a variety of open and semiopen habitats, such as forest edges, deserts, savannas, and gardens. Visits feeders. Iridescent green body with a forked dark blue tail and dark wings. Males have a black-tipped red bill with a blue throat, while females have a white belly, black mask, and a black bill with a red base.
Black-sided Robin
Poecilodryas hypoleuca
A medium-sized, fairly small bird of lowland and foothill forest interior. Black upperparts, head and marks on the sides of the chest, underparts white up to the bill, thin white eye-brow, wedge below the eye and patch in the wing. Shy and difficult to see. Very similar to Black- chinned Robin and co-occurs in some areas, but Black-sided has black on the sides of the chest, and has a narrower white eyebrow. Heard more often than seen. Voice, a distinctive “wee-chow!”, the second note with an explosive quality.
Brown-tailed Chat
Oenanthe scotocerca
A remarkably drab brown bird with slightly paler underparts. Key features include the dark brown tail and the pale, unmarked undertail coverts. Found very locally in rocky areas with bushes and trees. Perches up in trees, but feeds on the ground. Very similar to Sombre Rock Chat, and best distinguished by the pale and unmarked undertail. Also very similar to Blackstart, but has a dark brown rather than black tail. The calls are sparrow-like chirps, and the song is a high-pitched warbling reminiscent of Yellow-bellied Eremomela’s song.
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