Acanthiza

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Acanthiza
Yellowthornbill.jpg
Striated Thornbill (Acanthiza lineata)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acanthizidae
Genus: Acanthiza
Vigors & Horsfield, 1827
Type species
Motacilla pusilla [1]
Shaw, 1790
Species

14, see text.

Acanthiza is a genus of passeriform birds, most endemic to Australia, but with two species (A. murina and A. cinerea) restricted to New Guinea. These birds are commonly known as thornbills. They are not closely related to species in the hummingbird genera Chalcostigma and Ramphomicron , which are also called thornbills.

Contents

They are found primarily in Australia and have a thin long beak. Colloquially the thornbill is sometimes referred to as a “tit” by locals, but in reality the Australian continent lacks any true tits, albeit Acanthiza species do show some similarities with tits in their behavior. They have a similar role as small insect-eating birds with titmice and kinglets. [2] Like tits, Thornbills live in small groups foraging amidst trees and shrubs, and feed in a similar manner. Cooperative breeding is recorded from most species except the brown and Tasmanian thornbills. [3]

The habitat preferences of the group vary from dense forest to open saltbush and bluebush plains.

Acanthiza follow a very characteristic undulating path when flying. Their diet is formed essentially of little insects and plant lice that these birds glean from foliage. They are also exceptional acrobats that are easily able to stay head downward like tits do.

The nest of the Acanthiza is a large dome-shaped construction, completely enclosed except for a side hole, just like that of the long-tailed tit; however Acanthiza adds to it an additional room whose function is unknown. It is somewhat similar to the Aegithalidae in combining long incubation periods with highly synchronous hatching. [4] This combination, normally impossible due to intense competition for food, [5] occurs because parents and (usually) helpers can organise food supply in such a manner that sibling competition for food is virtually absent. [6]

The number of eggs usually ranges from two to four, and the incubation period is around twenty days with laying intervals of two days. The length of an adult bird is 8 to 10 centimetres (3.1 to 3.9 in).

Species

The genus contains 14 species: [7]

ImageCommon NameScientific nameDistribution
Mountain thornbill Acanthiza katherinanorth-east Queensland, Australia
Acanthiza pusilla - Risdon Brook.jpg Brown thornbill Acanthiza pusillasouth-eastern Australia, Tasmania
Inland thornbill 0A2A2135.jpg Inland thornbill Acanthiza apicalisAustralia, New Guinea
Tasmanian Thornbill - Tasmania S4E5890 (22399609731).jpg Tasmanian thornbill Acanthiza ewingiiTasmania and the Bass Strait Islands.
New Guinea thornbill Acanthiza murinaNew Guinea
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill, on branch.jpg Chestnut-rumped thornbill Acanthiza uropygialisAustralia.
Acanthiza reguloides.jpg Buff-rumped thornbill Acanthiza reguloidesWestern Australia.
Western thornbill Acanthiza inornatasouthwestern Australia.
Slender-billed thornbill Acanthiza iredaleiAustralia.
Acanthiza chrysorrhoa -Canberra, Australia-8 (2).jpg Yellow-rumped thornbill Acanthiza chrysorrhoasouthern and eastern Australia as well as Tasmania
Acanthiza nana - Wianamatta Reserve.jpg Yellow thornbill Acanthiza nanaeastern coast of Australia.
Grey thornbill Acanthiza cinereaNew Guinea
Acanthiza lineata - Wianamatta Reserve.jpg Striated thornbill Acanthiza lineataAustralia
Slaty-backed Thornbill - Christopher Watson (cropped).jpg Slaty-backed thornbill Acanthiza robustirostrisAustralia.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recurvirostridae</span> Family of birds

The Recurvirostridae are a family of birds in the wader suborder Charadrii. It contains two distinct groups of birds, the avocets and the stilts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striated pardalote</span> Species of bird

The striated pardalote is the least colourful and most common of the four pardalote species. Other common names include pickwick, wittachew and chip-chip. It is a very small, short-tailed bird that is more often heard than seen, foraging noisily for lerps and other small creatures in the treetops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow thornbill</span> Species of bird

The yellow thornbill, formerly known as the little thornbill, is a tiny passerine bird endemic to the eastern coast of Australia. While currently listed as Least Concern by the IUCN, the general consensus is that the population is decreasing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shriketit</span> Species of bird

The shriketits are a group of three species of birds in the genus Falcunculus endemic to Australia where they inhabit open eucalypt forest and woodland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orthonychidae</span> Family of birds

Orthonychidae is a clade of passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. It encompasses the genus Orthonyx, including the logrunners and the chowdilla. Some authorities consider the Australian family Cinclosomatidae to be part of the Orthonychidae. The three species use their stiffened tails to brace themselves when feeding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown thornbill</span> Species of bird

The brown thornbill is a passerine bird usually found in eastern and south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It can grow up to 10 cm (3.9 in) long, and feeds on insects. It is brown, grey and white. The species has five subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-rumped thornbill</span> Species of bird

The yellow-rumped thornbill is a species of passerine bird from the genus Acanthiza. The genus was once placed in the family Pardalotidae but that family was split and it is now in the family Acanthizidae. There are four subspecies of yellow-rumped thornbill. It is a small, brownish bird with a distinctive yellow rump and thin dark bill. It inhabits savannah, scrub and forests across most of Australia and eats insects. The species engages in cooperative breeding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Weebill</span> Species of bird

The weebill is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is an insectivorous passerine that is found throughout mainland Australia. At 8 to 9 cm long, it is Australia's smallest bird. It was originally described by John Gould in 1838, and four subspecies are recognised. The weebill's plumage is nondescript, with olive-grey upperparts and paler, more yellowish underparts. It grades from more brownish plumage in the southern regions of Australia to more yellow in tropical areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buff-rumped thornbill</span> Species of bird

The buff-rumped thornbill is a small passerine bird species belonging to the genus Acanthiza, most of which are endemic to Australia. Measuring 8–10 cm in length, this unassuming thornbill is characterised by its plain greenish brown upperparts and very pale-yellow underparts, with a distinctive buff coloured rump. The tail has a broad, blackish band with a paler tip. Adults possess white irises, whilst juveniles have dark eyes. The buff-rumped thornbill is one of 14 species within the genus Acanthiza genus, which are recognisable by their thin, pointed bill. Species are unique in their plumage and distribution. Despite their shared name, the genus is not related to hummingbirds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Inland thornbill</span> Species of bird

The inland thornbill was originally described by English ornithologist John Gould in The Birds of Australia. Inland thornbills are within the order passerines. The inland thornbill belongs to the genus Acanthiza, which now has three more species than the eleven outlined by Gould in The Birds of Australia. The Noongar people of southwestern Western Australia call A. apicalis "Djoobi-Djoolbang". The inland thornbill is also known as the broad-tail thornbill and presently contains several subspecies that were once considered independent species. The word apicalis comes from the Latin for 'tipped'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasmanian thornbill</span> Species of bird

The Tasmanian Thornbill is a small bushland member of the Acanthizidae family, endemic to Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands. It is a common bird in these regions and is often found occupying the colder, wetter portions of them. The brown thornbill will typically occupy the correspondingly drier portions of habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Striated thornbill</span> Species of bird

The striated thornbill is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to Australia, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chestnut-rumped thornbill</span> Species of bird

The chestnut-rumped thornbill is a small passerine bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scrubtit</span> Species of bird

The scrubtit is a species of bird in the thornbill family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to Tasmania and King Island in Australia. Its natural habitat is the temperate rainforest, Nothofagus beech forest and eucalypt woodland. It is a small species that resembles the Sericornis scrubwrens.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristlebird</span> Family of birds

The bristlebirds are a family of passerine birds, Dasyornithidae. There are three species in one genus, Dasyornis. The family is endemic to the south-east coast and south-west corner of Australia. The genus Dasyornis was sometimes placed in the Acanthizidae or, as a subfamily, Dasyornithinae, along with the Acanthizinae and Pardalotinae, within an expanded Pardalotidae, before being elevated to full family level by Christidis & Boles (2008).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acanthizidae</span> Family of birds

Acanthizidae—sometimes called Australian warblers—are a family of passerine birds which includes gerygones, thornbills Acanthiza, and scrubwrens Sericornis. The family Acanthizidae consists of small to medium passerine birds, with a total length varying between 8 and 19 centimetres. They have short rounded wings, slender bills, long legs, and a short tail. Most species have olive, grey, or brown plumage, although some have patches of a brighter yellow. The weebill is the smallest species of acanthizid, and the smallest Australian passerine; the largest is the pilotbird.

References

  1. "Acanthizidae". aviansystematics.org. The Trust for Avian Systematics. Retrieved 2023-07-16.
  2. Bell, Harry L.; Ford, Hugh A. (1986). "A Comparison of the Social Organization of Three Syntopic Species of Australian Thornbill, Acanthiza". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 19 (6): 381–92. Bibcode:1986BEcoS..19..381B. doi:10.1007/bf00300540. JSTOR   4599974. S2CID   6197201.
  3. Higging, P.J. and J.M. Peter; Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds , vol. 6: Pardalotes to Shrike-thrushes. ISBN   0-19-553762-9
  4. Ricklefs, R.E.; “Sibling competition, hatching asynchrony, incubation period, and lifespan in altricial birds”; in Power, Dennis M. (editor); Current Ornithology. Vol. 11. ISBN   9780306439902
  5. Losdat, Sylvain, Helfenstein, Fabrice, Gaude, Benoît and Richner, Heinz; “Effect of sibling competition and male carotenoid supply on offspring condition and oxidative stress”
  6. Ricklefs, Robert E.; “SIBLING COMPETITION AND THE EVOLUTION OF BROOD SIZE AND DEVELOPMENT RATE IN BIRDS”
  7. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Bristlebirds, pardalotes, Australasian warblers". World Bird List Version 9.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 21 January 2019.