| Chestnut-breasted quail-thrush | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Male | |
 | |
| Female | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Cinclosomatidae |
| Genus: | Cinclosoma |
| Species: | C. castaneothorax |
| Binomial name | |
| Cinclosoma castaneothorax Gould, 1849 | |
The chestnut-breasted quail-thrush (Cinclosoma castaneothorax) is a small endemic Australian bird which is predominantly found within the semi-arid deserts of New South Wales and Queensland. [2]
The chestnut-breasted quail-thrush is found in Northwestern New South Wales and Southwestern Queensland. It occurs predominantly within semi-arid zones featuring sparse woody shrubs, herbaceous vegetation and hummock grasses. [3]
The chestnut-breasted quail-thrush breeds during the winter semester. Eggs have been reported being laid at the end of months which have received heavy rain in the early weeks. [4]
The chestnut-breasted quail-thrush predominantly lays two eggs per clutch in a nest located on the ground in a slight depression. It is usually 5 cm deep and 15 cm wide and constructed of mulga leaves and hop-bush bark (Dodonoea adenophora). The nests are hidden amongst a low hop-bush which was part of a Mulga-Box association. The nest is usually hidden behind a curtain of leaves and bark.
The nests are frequented by related mature and juvenile individuals; however, only the mature individuals feed the young. If juveniles come too close to the nest they are often chased away by the mature male. Juveniles are distinguishable by their smaller size and incomplete bar below the chestnut breast.
All nest attendees, including hatchlings will render themselves motionless in the presence of predators such as crows Corvus orru and the wedge-tailed eagle Aquila audax. They have also been known to chase away crested bellbirds Oreoica gutturalis, grey-crowned babblers Pomatostomus temporalis, chestnut-crowned babblers Pomatostomus ruficeps and Hall's babblers Pomatostomus halli. [4]
Common call: Piping whistle of two and three short notes. This is not made by the female. When alarmed: One or two insect-like noises, sounding similar to the call of the Myzomela nigra. This is made by both sexes. [5]
Cinclosoma is best described as two clusters of taxa. The first most closely related cluster consisting of C. cinnamomeum, C. alisteri, C. castaneothorax and C. marginatum. The second cluster which is less related consists of C. punctatum, C. ajax and C. castanotum. The first cluster has developed due to allopatric speciation and sub-speciation within Australia's deserts. The second cluster has occurred due to parapatry between semi-arid and wet country. The territories of many subspecies overlap both temporally and spatially, yet the parapatric borders between C. cinnamomeum and C. castaneothorax coincide with sharp environmental changes removing competition between the two species. It is believed that all Cinclosoma taxa share a common ancestor which lived in Australia's warm wet forests. Its descendants spread across Australia's deserts through a leapfrog distribution pattern of evolution. This pattern of distribution is believed to be the reason for all semi-arid Cinclosoma taxa sharing camouflaged plumage. [6]
Male and female chestnut-breasted quail-thrushes are identifiable due to their different plumage.
• Male plumage: glossy black throat; rich rust-red breast band edged with black; eyebrow buff; the rump and back are a deep rust-red, black underside.
• Female plumage: Throat and malar region are orange-buff, eyebrow is the same colour. The breast is pale brown and merges into a dull cinnamon on the flanks. Underside is an olive-brown and rump is reddish-brown with indistinct darker streaks. [5]
The black-faced woodswallow is a woodswallow of the genus Artamus native to Australia, New Guinea and the Sunda Islands, including Timor. It is 18–19 cm (7.1–7.5 in) long and is the most widespread species in the family Artamidae. Woodswallows have a soft call with chiff, chap and chattering calls which can include vocal mimicry
The red-browed pardalote is a small brightly coloured insectivorous passerine, endemic to Australia. A gleaning specialist, they forage primarily in eucalypt trees . The Latin word rubricatus means 'red-ochred' which is descriptive of their orange-red eyebrow. Other common names include red-browed diamondbird, bellbird, cape red-browed, pale red-browed, fawn-eyed, fawn-eyebrowed and pallid or red-lored pardalote.
The black-breasted buttonquail is a rare buttonquail endemic to eastern Australia. As with other buttonquails, it is unrelated to the true quails. The black-breasted buttonquail is a plump quail-shaped bird 17–19 cm (6.7–7.5 in) in length with predominantly marbled black, rufous, and pale brown plumage, marked prominently with white spots and stripes, and white eyes. Like other buttonquails, the female is larger and more boldly coloured than the male, with a distinctive black head and neck sprinkled with fine white markings. The usual sex roles are reversed, as the female mates with multiple male partners and leaves them to incubate the eggs.
A quail-thrush is a bird of the genus Cinclosoma, which contains eight species. Quail-thrushes are in a different family from either quails or thrushes, but bear some superficial resemblance to them. The genus is found in Australia and New Guinea in a variety of habitats ranging from rainforest to deserts. The genus is closely related to the jewel-babblers of New Guinea. Seven species were recognised in 2007. A molecular study published in 2015 by Gaynor Dolman and Leo Joseph resulted in the splitting of the chestnut-backed quail-thrush into the chestnut quail-thrush of eastern Australia and the copperback quail-thrush in the west.
The red-capped robin is a small passerine bird native to Australia. Found in drier regions across much of the continent, it inhabits scrub and open woodland. Like many brightly coloured robins of the family Petroicidae, it is sexually dimorphic. Measuring 10.5–12.5 cm (4.1–4.9 in) in length, the robin has a small, thin, black bill, and dark brown eyes and legs. The male has a distinctive red cap and red breast, black upperparts, and a black tail with white tips. The underparts and shoulders are white. The female is an undistinguished grey-brown. This species uses a variety of songs, and males generally sing to advertise territories and attract females. Birds are encountered in pairs or small groups, but the social behaviour has been little studied.
The chestnut quail-thrush is a native Australian bird of the family Cinclosomatidae. These scrub birds are endemic to Australia and found in all states - barring Tasmania. They are relatively uncommon and are isolated to the semi-arid and arid fringes of the Australian interior.
The cinnamon quail-thrush is cryptic arid-zone species that is endemic to Australia. This small to medium-sized species of bird is found in the arid and semi-arid regions of central Australia.
The grey-headed honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia.
Hall's babbler is a small species of bird in the family Pomatostomidae most commonly found in dry Acacia scrubland in interior regions of eastern Australia. Superficially similar to the white-browed babbler this species was only recognised during the 1960s, which makes it a comparatively recent discovery. The bird is named after the Australian-born philanthropist Major Harold Wesley Hall, who funded a series of expeditions to collect specimens for the British Museum, during which the first specimens of Hall's babbler were collected in southwestern Queensland in 1963.
The chestnut-crowned babbler is a medium-sized bird that is endemic to arid and semi-arid areas of south-eastern Australia. It is a member of the family Pomatostomidae, which comprises five species of Australo-Papuan babblers. All are boisterous and highly social, living in groups of up to 23 individuals that forage and breed communally. Other names include red-capped babbler, rufous-crowned babbler and chatterer.
The white-browed babbler is a small, gregarious species of bird in the family Pomatostomidae. They are endemic to the open woodlands and shrubby areas of central and southern Australia. The Latin name superciliosus refers to the supercilium, or ‘eyebrow’, which is a feature synonymous with the pomatostomine babblers.
The jewel-babblers are the bird genus Ptilorrhoa in the family Cinclosomatidae. The genus contains four species that are endemic to New Guinea. The genus was once considered to contain the rail-babbler, but that species is now considered to belong to its own family. The genus is closely related to the better known quail-thrushes (Cinclosoma) of New Guinea and Australia. Together with a number of other genera they comprise the family Cinclosomatidae, although the validity of this family as a whole has been questioned.
Western quail-thrush is a species of bird in the family Cinclosomatidae. It is found in arid inland habitat in south-central Western Australia. It typically resides in dry woodland shrub with low understory on a stony ground. The climatic zones it is most commonly found in are semi-arid or arid.
The Nullarbor quail-thrush is a species of bird in the family Cinclosomatidae. It is the only Australian bird endemic to the Nullarbor Plain in southern Australia.
Cinclosomatidae is a family of passerine birds native to Australia and New Guinea. It has a complicated taxonomic history and different authors vary in which birds they include in the family. It includes the quail-thrushes and jewel-babblers.
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