Tasmanian Thornbill
Acanthiza ewingii
Small bird with thin pointed bill. Upperparts brown, underparts grayish brown, with dark red eye, reddish-brown forehead, and pale gray throat with indistinct streaking. Similar Brown Thornbill has shorter tail, grayer flanks, and a pale instead of rufous-brown wing panel. Endemic to Tasmania, where found in wet forests with well-developed shrub layer.
Identification
The Tasmanian thornbill is olive-brown above, darkening toward the back and tail, and can exhibit a patch of reddish-brown colouration on the forehead. The wings are dark grey with olive-brown edge lining. Grey on light grey scalloping is present from the chin to breast, with similar scalloping occurring on the sides of the head. The bill, feet, and legs are all dark grey and the eyes are distinctly large and dark, with red irises.<p>It's long, thin, thorn-shaped beak is a distinguishing characteristic of the Acanthiza (thornbill) family.<p>Visibly fluffy, white under-tail coverts are a distinguishing feature of the species.<p>The Tasmanian thornbill averages in size at around 10 cm and shows no significant coloration or size differentiation between sexes.<p>The Tasmanian and brown thornbills both occupy similar habitat, and are strikingly similar in appearance and behaviour, hence they are often easily confused.<p>There are five principal, physical, differences to distinguish between the two species:
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Acanthiza ewingii
- Authority
- Gould, 1844
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acanthizidae
- Genus
- Acanthiza
Range and habitat
The Tasmanian thornbill is endemic to Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands and is a common resident of rainforests, wet forests, and scrublands. It shares much of its range with the brown thornbill, but tends to occupy the wetter areas of the habitat, often choosing to live in dense scrub around wet gullies rather than the drier, more open slopes.<p>Temperate rainforest has been established to be the preferred habitat of the Tasmanian thornbill, but its range of suitable habitats also include Mediterranean-style shrubby vegetation, bogs, marshes, fens, swamps, peatlands, and shrub-dominated wetlands.<p>The subspecies A. e. rufifrons (King Island Tasmanian thornbill) occupies similar habitat but on King Island and is endemic there.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The Tasmanian thornbill is primarily insectivorous, but will sometimes include seeds and fruits into its diet. It is typically arboreal, and will forage at all levels of the forest including the ground, leaves, and the bark of trunks, branches, and twigs.<p>Tasmanian thornbills typically breed from September to January, and will build a small, neatly rounded, domed nest in low, dense vegetation. The nest itself is constructed of grass, green mosses, and fine strips of bark, and is enclosed at the entrance by a hinged flap. Within the nest, the thornbill will lay 3 or 4 eggs; however, neither the exact period of incubation of these eggs, nor the period from hatching to independence are known. The eggs themselves can range from off-white, with large brown freckles – concentrated toward the base of the egg, to a brown/bronze colour with smaller dotted dark brown/black freckles – again concentrated towards the base.<p>The Tasmanian thornbill has the warbling style of call that is characteristically attributed to the Acanthizidae (Australian warbler) family, and its main call has been described phonetically as a zit zit zit sound.
Conservation
The Tasmanian thornbill is common and widespread throughout Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands, and has been classified by Birdlife International as a secure species of least concern on the ICUN Red List of Threatened Species.<p>However, due to ongoing habitat destruction and heavy pesticide use, its population is suspected to be in decline.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Karoo Scrub-Robin
Tychaedon coryphoeus
A drab, gray-brown scrub-robin with bold white tail tips, eyebrow, and throat markings. Pairs are active and noisy in dry scrubby thickets and arid brush, where they vocalize prominently from the top of shrubs, fences, and rocks, or hop and run around on the ground, sometimes with their tails cocked. A scolding harsh contact call and warbler-like song draws attention to them. Other scrub-robins in the same range are more strikingly colored, and chats lack the white tail tips of Karoo Scrub-Robin.
Blue-headed Coucal
Centropus monachus
Huge coucal with a hefty bill. The head often looks black, but can show a blue sheen. Found close to water in marshes, swamps, and wet scrub. Fairly skulking, though occasionally seen in the open. Massive size is obvious in flight. The call is a slow, deep version of the typical coucal descending and accelerating series of “boop” notes. Very similar to Coppery-tailed Coucal, but there is virtually no overlap in range, and Blue-headed is smaller, with a blue sheen to the head. Similar coloration to Senegal Coucal, but much larger.
Eurasian Curlew
Numenius arquata
Scimitar-billed large shorebird of varied open habitats. Note large size, overall brown plumage, and long, decurved bill (appreciably shorter on juvenile). In flight shows white back patch, mostly white underwings. Common call an onomatopoeic "coor-lee." Compare to smaller Whimbrel, which has head stripes, a piping whistled call, and Far Eastern Curlew, which has a buffy rump and extensively marked underwings. Breeds mainly in grasslands, from coastal marshes to upland moors; winters mainly in coastal lowlands, especially mudflats and adjacent marshes.
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