Pilotbird | |
---|---|
Pilotbird, Blue Mountains | |
Pilotbird, Blue Mountains | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Acanthizidae |
Genus: | Pycnoptilus Gould, 1851 |
Species: | P. floccosus |
Binomial name | |
Pycnoptilus floccosus Gould, 1851 | |
Subspecies [2] | |
|
The pilotbird (Pycnoptilus floccosus) is a species of passerine bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is monotypic within the genus Pycnoptilus. The species is endemic to south-eastern Australia.
The species was first described by English ornithologist John Gould in 1851. The generic name Pycnoptilus derives from the Ancient Greek pyknos 'thick' and ptilon 'feather'. [3] Its specific epithet floccosus is Late Latin for 'flocked with wool'. [3] There are two subspecies: the nominate subspecies Pycnoptilus floccosus floccosus lives in alpine areas; and P. f. sandfordi lives in lowland forest. [4] [5]
The pilotbird is a large, plump species of acanthizid, measuring around 18 centimetres (7.1 in) in length and weighing 27 grams (0.95 oz). [4] The plumage of the underparts is reddish-brown with scalloping on the chest and the centre of the belly speckled dull white. The upperparts are chocolate-brown. [5] [6] The bill is short and finely pointed. [7] Its tail is broad and semi-erect, and flicked up and down when feeding. [5] [8]
The pilotbird is found from the Wollemi National Park and Blue Mountains National Park in New South Wales through to the Dandenong Ranges, near Melbourne in Victoria. [9] Its natural habitat is temperate wet sclerophyll forests and occasionally temperate rainforest, where there is dense undergrowth with abundant debris. [10] [7] It is sedentary and common. [7]
Its name comes from its supposed habit of following lyrebirds, taking prey that they flush, and also from its call guiding bushmen seeking for lyrebirds. [7] This habit is well known but seldom observed. The pilotbird is highly terrestrial, feeding on or near the ground and when disturbed it runs swiftly on strong legs. [7] Its call has been described as "piercing and sweet". [8] The male makes a far-carrying call of wit-wit-weet-WHEER to which the female may respond with a softer wit-a-wit-ee. [7] [8] [4]
The breeding season for the pilotbird is from August to December. [7] The globular nest is built with a side-entrance and hidden amongst the accumulated debris on the forest floor. [7] It is an untidy construction of bark, ferns, dead leaves and rootlets. [8] A clutch of usually two eggs, each measuring 27 by 20 mm (1.06 by 0.79 in) and varying in colour from grey-green to purple-brown, is incubated by the female for 20–22 days. [7] [8] During the nestling period, which lasts 14–17 days, the male will often feed the female or help with the care of the nestlings, if the female has a subsequent brood. [4] The nests are sometimes parasitised by the fan-tailed cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis). [4]
The pilotbird is fairly common within its small range, which has reduced as a result of forest clearance and urban development, but much of its habitat is within national parks or reserves. [4] Its habitat is also threatened by climate change, severe weather and bushfires; [10] nevertheless, the most recent assessment in October 2016 classified the pilotbird as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. [10] The pilotbird was listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC Act in 2022, [11] in response to the 2019/2020 Australian Bushfires, which burnt 47% of its distribution, and contributed to an estimated 30-50% decline in the population. [12]
A lyrebird is either of two species of ground-dwelling Australian birds that compose the genus Menura, and the family Menuridae. They are most notable for their impressive ability to mimic natural and artificial sounds from their environment, and the striking beauty of the male bird's huge tail when it is fanned out in courtship display. Lyrebirds have unique plumes of neutral-coloured tailfeathers and are among Australia's best-known native birds.
The olive-sided flycatcher is a small to medium sized passerine bird in the family Tyrannidae, the Tyrant flycatcher family. It is a migratory species that travels from South to North America to breed during the summer. It is a very agile flyer and mainly consumes flying insects on flight. Since 2016, this species has been assessed as being near-threatened globally (IUCN) and threatened in Canada (SRA) due to its declining populations.
The gang-gang cockatoo is a parrot found in the cooler and wetter forests and woodlands of Australia, particularly alpine bushland. It is the only species placed in the genus Callocephalon. Mostly mild grey in colour with some lighter scalloping, the male has a red head and crest, while the female has a small fluffy grey crest. It ranges throughout south-eastern Australia. The gang-gang cockatoo is the faunal emblem of the Australian Capital Territory. It is easily identified by its distinctive call, which is described as resembling a creaky gate, or the sound of a cork being pulled from a wine bottle.
The glossy black cockatoo, is the smallest member of the subfamily Calyptorhynchinae found in eastern Australia. Adult glossy black cockatoos may reach 50 cm (19.5 in) in length. They are sexually dimorphic. Males are blackish brown, except for their prominent sub-terminal red tail bands; the females are dark brownish with idiosyncratic yellow marking around the neck and prominent sub-terminal tail band of red with black bars. Three subspecies have been recognised, although this has been recently challenged, with a detailed morphological analysis by Saunders and Pickup 2023 finding there is cline in body dimensions over the latitudinal range of the species, with the birds from the north of the range smaller than the birds in the south. Saunders and Pickup argued that with no differentiation in bill morphology, little difference in genetic makeup, no differences in plumage pattern or colour, and no differences in diet, there is no justification in subdividing the species.
The superb lyrebird is an Australian passerine songbird, one of two species from the family Menuridae, with the other being the much rarer Albert's lyrebird. It is one of the world's largest songbirds, and is renowned for its elaborate tail and courtship displays, and its excellent mimicry. The species is endemic to Australia and is found in forest in the southeast of the country. According to David Attenborough, the superb lyrebird displays one of the most sophisticated voice skills within the animal kingdom—"the most elaborate, the most complex, and the most beautiful".
Albert's lyrebird is a timid, pheasant-sized songbird which is endemic to subtropical rainforests of Australia, in a small area on the state border between New South Wales and Queensland. The rarer of the two species of lyrebirds, Albert's lyrebird is named after Prince Albert, the prince consort of Queen Victoria, queen of the United Kingdom. It lacks the elegant lyre-shaped tail feathers of the superb lyrebird and is found in a much more restricted range.
The yellow-tufted honeyeater is a passerine bird found in the south-east ranges of Australia. A predominantly black and yellow honeyeater, it is split into four subspecies.
The genus Ptiloris consists of four allopatric species of birds in the family Paradisaeidae. These birds of paradise are commonly known as riflebirds, so named for the likeness of their black velvety plumage to the uniform of the Rifle Brigade. Alternatively, the bird's cry is similar to a rifle being fired and hitting its target but a call like this is not commonly reported. They are distributed in the rainforests of New Guinea and Eastern Australia.
The olive whistler or olivaceous whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, the whistlers, that is native to southeastern Australia.
The helmeted honeyeater is a passerine bird in the honeyeater family. It is a distinctive and critically endangered subspecies of the yellow-tufted honeyeater, that exists in the wild only as a tiny relict population in the Australian state of Victoria, in the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve. It is Victoria's only endemic bird, and was adopted as one of the state's official symbols.
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.
The noisy scrubbird is a species of bird in the family Atrichornithidae. It is endemic to the coastal heaths of south-western Australia.
The speckled warbler is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to eastern Australia. Its natural habitat is temperate forests.
The crescent honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southeastern Australia. A member of the genus Phylidonyris, it is most closely related to the common New Holland honeyeater and the white-cheeked honeyeater. Two subspecies are recognized, with P. p. halmaturinus restricted in range to Kangaroo Island and the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia.
The western gerygone is a small, brownish-grey species of passerine bird, which is found in inland and south-west Australia. It is an arboreal, insectivore of open forest, woodland and dry shrubland. It is not currently threatened with extinction.
The yellow-throated honeyeater is a species of passerine bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is similar in behaviour and appearance to the white-eared honeyeater and is endemic to Australia's island state of Tasmania. It was formerly considered a pest of orchards.
The fernwren is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is monotypic within the genus Oreoscopus.
The large-billed scrubwren is a passerine bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to eastern Australia. It is found in denser undergrowth in temperate forest, subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, and subtropical or tropical moist montane forest.
The pale-mandibled aracari or pale-billed araçari is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Ecuador and Peru.
The stripe-billed aracari or stripe-billed araçari is a near-passerine bird in the toucan family Ramphastidae. It is found in Colombia, Ecuador, and Panama.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link)