From Opus

Photo by Neil Fifer
Melbourne, Australia, June 2004

Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris

[edit] Identification

15cm

• Grey brown back
• Pale cinnamon below
• Black head
• White throat with red patch
• Rufous nape
• Dark tail with white tips
• Red iris
• Long down curved black bill

Female and juvenile - smaller and duller

[edit] Distribution

Juvenile
Photo by Rose Fletcher
Victor Harbor, South Australia, January 2011

South-eastern Australia: found in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria'

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies¹:

• A. t. cairnsensis:

• Montane north-eastern Queensland (Windsor Tablelands to Paluma Range)

• A. t. tenuirostris:

• Eastern Australia (central Queensland to southern Victoria and south-eastern South Australia)

• A. t. dubius:

• Tasmania, King and Flinders Islands (Bass Strait)

• A. t. halmaturinus:

• South-eastern South Australia (Mount Lofty and Flinders Ranges; Kangaroo Island

[edit] Habitat

Forest, woodlands and gardens.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

The diet includes nectar, insects and invertebrates.

[edit] Breeding

It builds a deep cup-shaped nest from grass and bark, lined with feathers. The clutch consists of 1-4 pink eggs with dark reddish brown blotches and spots and is incubated by the female for 13-16 days. Both parents care for the young.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Avibase
3. Wikipedia

• List of references

[edit] External Links