- Sericornis frontalis
Identification
10·5–15 cm (4-6 in)
- Dark olive-brown upperparts
- Buffy grey throat
- Dull rufous flanks, belly and rump
- White line above and below the eye
- Black around the eye between the lines, becoming greyer near the ear
- Light cream eye
Sexes similar; females slightly duller, particularly on the face.
Distribution
Coastal eastern Australia: found in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria and Western Australia.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Ten subspecies are recognized[1]:
- S. f. laevigaster: Disjunct in eastern Queensland (Atherton Tableland to Burnett River)
- S. f. tweedi: Eastern New South Wales (Queensland border to Hunter River)
- S. f. frontalis: South-eastern Australia (central New South Wales to southern Victoria and south-eastern South Australia)
- S. f. harterti: Southern Victoria (Otway Peninsula to Strzelecki Range)
- S. f. rosinae: South Australia (Mount Lofty Range to Fleurieu Peninsula)
- S. f. ashbyi: Kangaroo Island (South Australia)
- S. f. mellori: Southern Australia (Hopetoun, Western Australia to Adelaide)
- S. f. maculatus: South-western Western Australia
- S. f. balstoni: Central Western Australia (Geraldton to Shark Bay; Houtman Abrolhos)
- S. f. flindersi: Flinders Island and adjacent islands in Bass Strait
Habitat
Rainforest, open forest, woodland and heaths.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists of arthropods, especially insects, with the addition of some seeds and fruit.
Breeding
The breeding season is reported to be all year, but mainly August to January. The nest is a large grass ball with other plant material incorporated placed near the ground in thick vegetation. It has a side entrance tunnel leading to a feather-lined cup. The clutch consists of 2-3 pale blue to pale purple eggs, spotted with brown at the base. There may be several broods each year.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Birds in Backyards
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved Nov 2017)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) White-browed Scrubwren. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/White-browed_Scrubwren
