| Nullarbor quail-thrush | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Illustration by Neville W. Cayley in The Emu , 1922. | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Cinclosomatidae |
| Genus: | Cinclosoma |
| Species: | C. alisteri |
| Binomial name | |
| Cinclosoma alisteri Mathews, 1910 | |
| Synonyms | |
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The Nullarbor quail-thrush (Cinclosoma alisteri) is a species of bird in the family Cinclosomatidae. It is the only Australian bird endemic to the Nullarbor Plain in southern Australia. [2]
The species was first described by Gregory Mathews in 1910, selecting a specimen held in his personal collection as the type. [3]
The size of the male is slightly larger than the female, the range is 185 to 210 millimetres. The tail colour is black at the outer feathers, tipped with white, the upper parts of the plumage is otherwise a rufous colour. Black coloration appears at the lores, throat, breast, and beneath white spots at the shoulder. [4]
A ground-feeding bird that is usually only evident while foraging, Cinclosoma alisteri actively moves over a range, although in a haphazard manner, turning stones in search of seeds and small invertebrates. This quail-thrush is able to see anything approaching for a considerable distance on the plains, and will quickly seek refuge beneath a shrub or in the burrows created by the introduced rabbit. During the breeding season a pair will defend a territory, but at other times they are found in groups of around individuals. Breeding may occur at any opportune time of the year, but always during a period from August to September. The site selected for breeding may be a slight depression scraped into the earth by the female, but is often against a bush, rock, or patch of grass and lined with strips of plant material. The clutch size is usually two eggs, measuring 28 by 20 mm, which are a creamy white colour with brownish or greyish spots. [4]
The range is restricted to the Nullarbor Plain, an area in southern Australia that extends across the Western and South Australian border. The habitat favoured by this species is described as limestone gibber plains, containing little overlying vegetation, and shrub-dominated plant communities on the steppe. [4]
Two other species of the genus are populations that also resulted from the increasing aridity of the Australian continent: the chestnut quail-thrush Cinclosoma castanotum has a wider distribution that overlaps with this species; and the cinnamon quail-thrush Cinclosoma cinnamomeum which is only found to the north of the Nullarbor. [4]
Psophodidae is a family of passerine birds native to Australia and nearby areas. It has a complicated taxonomic history and different authors vary in which birds they include in the family. In the strictest sense, it includes only the 5 or 6 species of whipbirds and wedgebills, but some authors also include the quail-thrushes (Cinclosoma), 8 species of ground-dwelling birds found in Australia and New Guinea, and the jewel-babblers (Ptilorrhoa), 3 or 4 species found in rainforest in New Guinea. Others place them in their own family, the Cinclosomatidae. The Malaysian rail-babbler was formerly sometimes placed in this family, which would then be called Eupetidae.
The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee, also known as the Iben bird is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, where it stalks slowly at night in search of invertebrates such as insects. Its grey-brown coloration is distinguished by dark streaks, its eyes are large and legs are long. It is capable of flight, but relies on the camouflage of its plumage to evade detection during the day; the bush curlew adopts a rigid posture when it becomes aware of an observer. Both sexes care for two eggs laid on the bare ground, usually sited near bush in a shaded position or next to a fallen branch.
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 eastern whipbird is an insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia. Its whip-crack song is a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard much more often than seen, it is dark olive-green and black in colour with a distinctive white cheek patch and a crest. The male and female are similar in plumage.
The inland dotterel is an endemic bird of the arid Australian interior. It forms loose flocks in sparsely vegetated gibber plain and claypans in the day where it loafs in the shade and eats shoots of shrubs. It is most often encountered at night when it forages on roads for insects. The relative remoteness of its habitat means that it is not well studied. The most detailed observations of the species were made by the South African arid-zone ornithology specialist Gordon Maclean in the 1970s. Alternate English names include Australian plover, inland plover, desert plover and prairie plover.
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.
Psophodes is a genus of five species of songbirds endemic to Australia, known as whipbirds and wedgebills.
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 chestnut-rumped thornbill is a small passerine bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia.
The southern whiteface is a small passerine found in arid regions across most of the southern half of the Australian continent, excluding Tasmania. Superficially finch-like in appearance, this insectivorous bird is relatively common throughout most of its range, however, overall populations appear to be in decline.
The rufous fieldwren also known as the desert wren or sandplain wren is a species of insectivorous bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia.
The black honeyeater is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. The black honeyeater exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the male being black and white while the female is a speckled grey-brown; immature birds look like the female. The species is endemic to Australia, and ranges widely across the arid areas of the continent, through open woodland and shrubland, particularly in areas where the emu bush and related species occur.
The chestnut-breasted quail-thrush is a small endemic Australian bird which is predominantly found within the semi-arid deserts of New South Wales and Queensland.
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 spotted quail-thrush is a species of bird in the family Cinclosomatidae. It is endemic to Australia.
The redthroat is a small, mostly ground-dwelling species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to Australia, occurring mostly in arid and semi-arid areas containing acacia and chenopod shrublands. The species has a distinctive red throat patch and is able to mimic the calls of numerous other bird species.
The Australian pratincole is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. It breeds in Australia's interior; it winters to northern and eastern parts of the continent, Indonesia and New Guinea. It is a medium-sized nomadic shorebird which is commonly found in arid inland Australia. It breeds predominantly from south-western Queensland to northern Victoria and through central Australia to the Kimberley region in Western Australia. The Australian population is estimated at 60,000 individuals. They are a migratory species that generally move to the southern parts of their distribution range to breed during spring and summer. During winter they migrate to northern Australia, New Guinea, Java, Sulawesi and southern Borneo to over-winter. Although they are common, their occurrence is unpredictable and varies in location.
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.
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.
