From Opus

Male
Photo by Tom Tarrant
Australia, April 2004

Immature male
Photo by Rufus
North of Waikerie, South Australia, April 2007

Alternative names: Bellbird; Crested Oreoica

Oreoica gutturalis

[edit] Identification

19 - 23cm.
Male

• Grey-brown body
• Grey head
• Raised black crest
• Black breast
• White throat and forehead
• Orange-red iris

Female

• Paler
• Breast not black
• Smaller black crest

Juveniles are mainly brown with pale shaft streaks on body feathers.

[edit] Distribution

Most of Australia except coastal regions of north and east Australia.
Widespread and locally fairly common.

[edit] Taxonomy

There are 2 subspecies:

• O. g. pallescens in Western Australia, Northern Territory (except north), South Australia (except south) and west and central Queensland
• O. g. gutturalis in southwest and south Western Australia, southern third of South Australia, south-central Queensland and New South Wales and northern Victoria

[edit] Habitat

Dry inland and sub-inland woodland.

[edit] Behaviour

The diet includes invertebrates and seeds.
Forages mainly on the ground.
Breeding from late July to early March. Its nest is cup-shaped made from twigs, bark and leaves; both parents incubate the eggs. Lays 1 - 4 eggs.
Resident species, nomadic in some parts of its range.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist.
2. Del Hoyo, J, A Elliott, and D Christie, eds. 2007. Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 978-8496553422
3. Simpson, K and N Day. 1998. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-4877-5

• List of references

[edit] External Links