Spotted Catbird

Identificazione

Spotted catbirds are 26–30 cm. Males weigh 180g and females weigh 168g. Adults have a large, dusky colored head with a blackish cap and black ear-patch. They have mostly bright-green upperparts with heavy olive chevrons and white streaking on the underbody. They have slim white wing bars and a white-tipped green tail. The eye is red and it has a stout, cream colored beak. The legs and feet are dark to bluish grey. Males and females have similar plumage. Their coloring differs from other bowerbirds which have a plumage color pattern consisting of a mixture of two colors of various proportions. The cryptic plumage coloring of the catbird aids in parental care by helping the catbird blend into its surroundings allowing males and females to tend to the nestlings. It may also allow spotted catbirds to spend more time foraging as they blend into the surrounding foliage. Their voice is described as loud with cat-like wailing. They produce a nasal "here-I-arr" call with sharp clicks and three loud cries. They can be heard calling all times of the day especially at dawn and dusk and call more frequently on during cooler temperatures with dewy mornings and after rain.

Tassonomia

The spotted catbird is one of ten species in the genus Ailuroedus, the non bower-building bowerbirds. The noticeable difference between the two Australian dwelling species is the lack of black ear-coverts and reduction in dorsal spotting on A. cassirostris. Molecular evidence suggests Ailuroedus is a sister group to the other bowerbirds, diverging into the only genus within the eight species of Australian bowerbirds that is monogamous and does not build a bower or clear a court for mating. The other bowerbirds are polygynous and make various forms of bowers or create stages for mating. One study revealed the catbirds have a smaller brain for their body size compared to the bower-building species. Until 2016, A. maculosus was considered a subspecies of either A. melanotis, then also named the spotted catbird, or as a subspecies of A. crassirostris (green catbird).

Nome scientifico

Ailuroedus maculosus

Autorità

Ramsay, EP, 1875

Ordine

Passeriformi

Famiglia

Ptilonorhynchidae

Genere

Ailuroedus

Areale e habitat

The spotted catbird is an Australo-Papuan species. It can be found in tropical rainforest and is locally common in its range. Within Australia it has two isolated populations, both located in far north Queensland. One group occurs on Cape York and the other further south in the wet tropics region. The tropical forests of the Bellenden Ker range and adjoining scrub area from Cardwell to Cooktown may be the species "headquarters". Spotted catbirds are a highly specialized rainforest species and in the Australian wet tropics they prefer to nest in well vegetated areas with steep creek slopes and also in forests with Calamus tangles and will nest in the same location year after year. They have a home range of 1-2 hectares and forage about 68 m from their nests.<p>Destruction of their rainforest habitat and rising temperatures could pose a threat to the spotted catbird. There have been attempts at revegetation on the Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland. This has resulted in habitat heterogeneity. These attempts may not be helpful to the habitat specific species. This rainforest fragmentation creates corridors in the attempt to provide habitat for rainforest birds. These corridors are subject to edge effects and go unused by the specialized rainforest species. However, they have been regularly detected in well-established rainforest regrowth in Australia.

Comportamento

Sul carattere curioso dell'uccello gatto maculato è stato annotato: «Entrando nella boscaglia dal margine della strada, si può sentire il richiamo di un uccello gatto a circa cento iarde di distanza. Probabilmente l'uccello chiamerà diverse volte nei minuti successivi, avvicinandosi a ogni richiamo, finché lo si vedrà arrivare su un ramo vicino all'intruso. Da lì continuerà a emettere a intervalli il suo 'harah', osservando attentamente la persona. Con ogni probabilità, poco dopo arriverà anche il partner, in risposta ai richiami del primo uccello». Compie esibizioni sugli alberi simili a quelle di altri passeriformi.