Mangrove Golden Whistler

Alternative names: Black-tailed Whistler; Black-tailed Thickhead; Robust Whistler (spinicaudus)

Photo by Mat & Cathy
Adelaide River bridge, Arnhem Highway, Northern Territory, Australia, August, 2009

Pachycephala melanura

Identification

15 - 17cm. Slightly smaller than Golden Whistler. Male:

• Black head to nape and black band around upper breast
• Yellow band around nape, broader than in Golden Whistler
• Olive-green upperparts and black wings, yellow-grey edged
• Sometimes yellow-green tail base

Female:

• Buff-grey upperparts with olive wash on back and wings
• Dull white throat
• Underparts dull to bright yellow according subspecies

Immatures like females but with rufous edged wing feathers. Juveniles are rich rufous.

Similar species

Very similar to Golden Whistler. Ranges overlap in Queensland.

Distribution

Islands off south and east New Guinea coastal New Guinea, Solomon Islands and coastal northern Australia.
Locally common.

Taxonomy

There are 5 subspecies:

• P. m. melanura on the coast of north and northwest Australia
• P. m. robusta from northern Western Australia over the coast of Northern Territory to Queensland (including Cape York Peninsula)
• P. m. spinicaudus in south New Guinea and on islands in the Torres Strait
• P. m. dahli in the Bismarck Archipelago and on the coast of southeast New Guinea
• P. m. whitneyi on Whiteny, Momalufu and Akiri Islands in extreme northwest Solomon Islands

Has been treated conspecific with Golden Whistler but ranges overlap in Australia and no interbreeding recorded. But hybrid populations exist on islands of northeast New Guinea and whitneyi may be a hybrid too.

Habitat

Mangrove forests. On islands also in more open habitats and in New Guinea also in other forest types.

Behaviour

Diet

Feeds mainly on insects, but takes also spiders and small crabs.

Breeding

Breeding in Australia October to February in Western Australia and Juny, September and December in Queensland. The nest is a cup made of grass, rootlets and twigs. It's placed 1.6 to 3m above the ground in mangroves or thick vines. Lays 2 -3 eggs.

Resident species.

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.
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

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Mangrove Golden Whistler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Mangrove_Golden_Whistler

External Links

Search for photos of Mangrove Golden Whistler in the gallery