Pájaro-gato Verde

Identificación

Green catbirds are a medium-sized stocky bird with long, powerful legs and a long, stout bill. The back, wings and rump are brilliant emerald green, with very conspicuous pure white spots at the tips of the tertiaries and secondaries, which, on the tips of coverts, form two white wing-bars. The tail is brownish emerald with white tips. The head is greenish brown mottled black and finely flecked pale buff. The chest is greenish buff to dull emerald with distinctive short white streaks.<p>The bill is horn coloured and the legs are greyish brown.<p>The iris is bright red in direct sun with a partial white eye-ring.<p>Male and female birds share similar plumage, making it very difficult to distinguish between the sexes. Juvenile birds also have similar plumage, although it is duller. Very young birds have fluffy grey down on their heads (Donaghey. R. 1996).

Taxonomía

Nombre científico

Ailuroedus crassirostris

Autoridad

(Paykull, 1815)

Orden

Passeriformes

Familia

Ptilonorhynchidae

Género

Ailuroedus

Distribución y hábitat

According to The Field Guide to Australian Birds (Michael Morcombe, 2003) (2nd edition), green catbirds are found along the length of the east coast of NSW (in areas of suitable habitat) through to the Cooloola Coast in South East Queensland.<p>The birds are found in subtropical and temperate rainforest and paperbarks, and occasionally in adjacent eucalypt forest.<p>The average home range of the birds is five acres, although this is greatly reduced during breeding season. Breeding territories usually contain several fig trees which regularly produce large amounts of ripe fruit for several months which coincides with the catbird breeding season. Green catbirds drink and bath in pools of water that are found in the crevices of surrounding trees or water courses.

Migración

Resident species

Conservación

Although the green catbird is listed as Least Concern on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, it is listed as Vulnerable in NSW, which is the majority of its range.<p>Although it is widespread and common in its favoured habitat, ongoing clearing of rainforest and paperbark swamps for development is likely to continue to threaten the green catbird in the future.

Tendencia poblacional

declining