Alternative names: White-bellied Thickhead; Shrike-like Thickhead
Disambiguation: White-bellied Whistler seems to have been used as a name for this species but is in Opus used for Pachycephala leucogastra
- Pachycephala lanioides
Identification
18 - 20cm.
Male:
- Black head to nape and extending around upper breast in a band
- Rufous nape with narrower rufous band extending around below black band
- White throat and rest of underparts
- Grey to grey-back upperparts
- Black upper tail
- Black bill
Female:
- Grey-brown upperparts, darker on wings and tail
- Buff underparts, paler on throat
- Dark streaking on breast and throat
- Pale grey wash on breast
- Brownish bill
Juveniles similar to females but with pale rufous washed underparts and more strongly streaked.
Distribution
Coast of northern Australia.
Local but fairly common.
Taxonomy
Three subspecies recognized:
- P. l. lanioides in northern Western Australia
- P. l. carnarvoni on Pilbara coast in northwest Western Australia
- P. l. fretorum from coast of extreme northwest Western Australia east to Northern Territory and southwest Cape York Peninsula (Queensland)
Habitat
Mangrove forests. Also in adjacent rainforest.
Behaviour
Feeds on insects, crustaceans and small molluscs.
Breeding season from August to October. The nest is a small cup made of fine twigs. It's placed 1.5 to 5m above the ground in a fork or in twigs near the trunk in mangrove. Lays 2 eggs.
Resident species.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- 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. (2024) White-breasted Whistler. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/White-breasted_Whistler
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
