Black-throated whipbird

Black-throated whipbird
Conservation status
Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1) [1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Psophodidae
Genus:	Psophodes
Species:	P. nigrogularis
Binomial name
Psophodes nigrogularis Gould, 1844

The black-throated whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis) is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations in Southwest Australia. It is predominantly olive green in colour. Two subspecies have sometimes been separated as the "white-bellied whipbird".

Taxonomy

The black-throated whipbird was formally described in 1844 by the English ornithologist John Gould based on a specimen collected by John Gilbert in the Wongan Hills of Western Australia. Gould coined the current binomial name Psophodes nigrogularis. ^{[2] [3]} The specific epithet combines the Latin niger meaning "black" with Modern Latin gularis meaning "throated". ^[4]

Four subspecies are recognised:. ^[5] They are under threat to some degree.

• P. n. nigrogularis Gould, 1844 – Two Peoples Bay, far southwest South Australia: (Endangered) The western heath subspecies is now restricted to a small patch east of Albany, having disappeared from large parts of its range due to land clearance. ^[6]
• P. n. oberon Schodde & Mason, IJ, 1991 – southwest Western Australia, east of Two Peoples Bay: (Rare) The western mallee subspecies is found in scattered populations between the Stirling Ranges and Ravensthorpe. It is apparently common in the Fitzgerald River National Park. ^[7]
• P. n. leucogaster Howe & Ross, JA, 1933 – coastal central south South Australia (white-bellied whipbird group)
• P. n. lashmari Schodde & Mason, IJ, 1991 – Kangaroo Island (off southeast South Australia) (white-bellied whipbird group)

The subspecies P. n. leucogaster and P. n. lashmari have been considered as a separate species, the white-bellied whipbird. ^[8] The Clements Checklist refers to this species with the common name western whipbird (black-throated) to distinguish it from P. leucogaster (white-bellied). ^[9]

Description

The black-throated whipbird is a slim bird some 21–25 cm (8.3–9.8 in) in length. It is predominantly olive green with a black throat and a narrow white cheek-patch edged with black on its face. It has a small crest and a long dark olive-green tail tipped with white, its underparts are a paler olive colour. The bill is black with blackish feet. Juveniles are a duller olive-brown in colour and lack the white cheek stripes and dark throat. ^[10]

Breeding

Breeding occurs in spring. The nest is a bowl of twigs and sticks lined with softer material such as grasses, located in shrubs or trees less than 1–2 m (3–7 ft) above the ground. A clutch of two eggs, pale blue with blackish splotches and spots, measuring 26 mm × 19 mm (1.0 in × 0.7 in), is laid. ^[11]

References

1. BirdLife International (2016). "Psophodes nigrogularis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22705330A94013438. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22705330A94013438.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. Gould, John (1844). The Birds of Australia. Vol. 3. London: self. Plate 16 and text.
3. Mayr, Ernst; Paynter, Raymond A. Jr, eds. (1964). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 10. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 230.
4. Jobling, James A. "nigrogularis". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
5. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (February 2025). "Australasian babblers, logrunners, satinbirds, berrypeckers, wattlebirds, whipbirds, jewel-babblers, quail-thrushes". IOC World Bird List Version 15.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
6. Garnett. p158
7. Garnett. p159
8. Burbidge, A.H.; Joseph, L.; Toon, A.; White, L.C.; McGuire, A.; Austin, J.J. (2017). "A case for realigning species limits in the southern Australian whipbirds long recognised as the Western Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis)". Emu. 117 (3): 254–263. Bibcode:2017EmuAO.117..254B. doi:10.1080/01584197.2017.1313685. S2CID   90267260.
9. "Clements Checklist: Updates & Corrections – August 2017 | Clements Checklist". www.birds.cornell.edu. Cornell University. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
10. Simpson K, Day N, Trusler P (1993). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Ringwood, Victoria: Viking O'Neil. p. 392. ISBN   0-670-90478-3.
11. Beruldsen, G (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self. p. 346. ISBN   0-646-42798-9.

Sources

• Garnett, S. (1993) Threatened and Extinct Birds Of Australia. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. National Library, Canberra. ISSN   0812-8014