Male in breeding plumage
Photo © by Mike Bouette
Mount Jackson, Western Australia, Australia, 25 August 2019
Photo © by Mike Bouette
Mount Jackson, Western Australia, Australia, 25 August 2019
Alternative name: Copperback
- Cinclosoma clarum
Identification
21-26cm (8¼-10¼ in)
Male:
- Black throat, face and upper breast
- White eyebrow and broad white streak on side of throat
- Grey flanks and white central belly
- Grey-brown upper back
- Chestnut shoulder to lower back, forming a wide band over the upperparts
- White tail tip
Female:
- Paler than male
- Brown face
- Grey upper breast
Juveniles are similar to females.
Distribution
Southwest and south-central Australia.
Locally fairly common.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Clements recognizes these subspecies[1]:
- C. c. clarum in southcentral Western Australia, southwest and southcentral Northern Territory and west South Australia
- C. c. fordianum in south Western Australia and southwest South Australia
- C. c. morgani in Eyre Peninsula, south-central South Australia
The described subspecies dundasi is an intergrade between clarum and fordianum.
Habitat
Mallee, low shrubs, dry woodland and heath in arid or semi-arid regions, usually on sandy substrates.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes invertebrates such as grasshoppers, beetles, flies, caterpillars, ants and seeds.
A shy, elusive bird, foraging on the ground.
Breeding
They nest in a depression in the ground which is lined with bark, grass and twigs. Lays 2 eggs.
Movements
Resident species, in some arid regions also nomadic.
References
- Clements, J. F., P. C. Rasmussen, T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, A. Spencer, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, M. Smith, and C. L. Wood. 2024. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2024. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Gill, F, D Donsker, and P Rasmussen (Eds). 2024. IOC World Bird List (v 15.1). Doi 10.14344/IOC.ML.15.1. http://www.worldbirdnames.org/
- 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
- Simpson, K and N Day. 1998. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. London: Christopher Helm. ISBN 0-7136-4877-5
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Copperback Quail-thrush. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 10 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Copperback_Quail-thrush
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
