| Rockwarbler | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Acanthizidae |
| Genus: | Origma |
| Species: | O. solitaria |
| Binomial name | |
| Origma solitaria (Lewin, 1808) | |
| Synonyms [2] | |
Sylvia solitaria, Lewin | |
The rockwarbler (Origma solitaria), is a bird in the family Acanthizidae. [3] It is the only bird species endemic to the state of New South Wales in Australia. [4]
English artist and naturalist John Lewin described the rockwarbler in 1808. [2] For many years it was the only member of its genus until genetic work showed that it was related to two species of mousewarblers from New Guinea. The rockwarbler diverged from the common ancestor of the other two species around 9 million years ago. [5] Rockwarbler has been designated the official name by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC). [6] Common names also include cataract-bird, cave-bird, origma, rock-robin, and sandstone robin. [2] A former common name, hanging dick, came about from its nest, which hangs suspended in a cave. [7] It has no subspecies. [8]
The rockwarbler is 14 cm (5.5 in) in length and weighs around 14 g (0.5 oz), with predominantly dark grey-brown plumage, darker wings and more red-brown underparts, cinnamon-tinged face and forehead, and whitish throat. Its tail is black. [9] Adult males and females have similar plumage. Juveniles have duller and paler plumage than the adult, with a reddish tint to the throat, and a greyer chin. It can be distinguished from the pilotbird by its smaller size and head, white throat patch, and square tail. [8]
Its main call is a repeated shrill chis-sick, given during the breeding season–though they may also give a tid-ed-dee. Its contact call is rasping and smooth. The alarm call is similar to the contact call, but a single note. Its scold call is a chatter similar to that of scrubwrens. They are accomplished mimics, and will replicate the calls of numerous other birds, including scrubwrens, white-eared honeyeaters, grey butcherbirds, eastern spinebills, rufous whistlers and more. [8]
It is usually seen hopping erratically over rocks while flicking its tail. Its preferred habitat is woodland and gullies with exposed sandstone or limestone rocks, and often near water. Its distribution is central eastern New South Wales, within a 240 km (150 mi) radius of Sydney. It has been affected adversely by human-modified habitat, and has declined in these areas. [9] Most of its range is protected in national parks, which has insulated the species from habitat loss. They generally do not migrate, except in very dry conditions. [8]
Rockwarblers may live alone, in pairs, or in family groups with as many as five members. They do not fly very far, though they are quite fast. Flights tend to be low to the ground. When not flying, they will flick their tail side-to-side. [8]
Mated pairs maintain a territory, nesting in a sandstone cave. [9] The nest is a hanging structure made of grasses, roots, bark and moss, with spider web used as an adhesive. It has a dome-shaped entrance. Breeding season is from August to January. The female lays a clutch of three eggs, which take around 23 days to hatch. [9] Up to two clutches may be laid in a season. [8]
Rockwarblers are generally insectivores, but will supplement the diet with seeds. Insects are taken mostly on the ground, or in lower branches of vegetation. They may also hover in short bursts to catch prey. They are inquisitive and will investigate nooks and crannies in rocks, as well as under leaf litter. They are nimble, being able to move vertically up rock faces to probe rock features. Preferred insects are ants, wasps, and beetles, as well as butterfly and moth larvae. Panic grass and wheat are both acceptable grains. They will also take food left by humans, namely bread crumbs and butter. [8]
The bushtits or long-tailed tits are small passerine birds from the family Aegithalidae, containing 13 species in three genera, all but one of which (Psaltriparus) are found in Eurasia. Bushtits are active birds with long tails compared to their size, moving almost constantly while they forage for insects in shrubs and trees. During non-breeding season, birds live in flocks of up to 50 individuals. Several bushtit species display cooperative breeding behavior, also called helpers at the nest.
The Nashville warbler is a small songbird in the New World warbler family, found in North and Central America. It breeds in parts of the northern and western United States and southern Canada, and migrates to winter in southern California and Texas, Mexico, and the north of Central America. It has a gray head and a green back, and its underparts are yellow and white.
The black-throated gray warbler or black-throated grey warbler is a passerine bird of the New World warbler family Parulidae. It is 13 cm (5.1 in) long and has gray and white plumage with black markings. The male has the bold black throat of its name, and black stripes on its head, as well as black streaks on its flanks; the female is a paler version of the male, with a white throat and less distinct black markings on the flanks and wings. It breeds in western North America from British Columbia to New Mexico, and winters in Mexico and the southwestern United States. The habitats it prefers are coniferous and mixed forests and scrubland, especially those with pinyon pines, junipers, sagebrush, and oaks. Its nest is an open cup of plant fibers lined with feathers, built a few metres from the ground in the branches of a tree or shrub. Three to five eggs are laid, and young are fed by both parents. Common in its breeding range, it does not seem to be seriously threatened by human activities, unlike many migratory warblers.
The scarlet myzomela or scarlet honeyeater is a small passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to Australia. It was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801. At 9 to 11 cm long, it is the smallest honeyeater in Australia. It has a short tail and relatively long down-curved bill. It is sexually dimorphic; the male is a striking bright red with black wings, while the female is entirely brown. The species is more vocal than most honeyeaters, and a variety of calls have been recorded, including a bell-like tinkling.
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.
The yellow-throated scrubwren is a passerine in the family Acanthizidae that is found in parts of eastern coastal Australia. It was formerly placed in the genus Sericornis, but is now the only species in the genus Neosericornis.
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.
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 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 speckled warbler is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to eastern Australia. Its natural habitat is temperate forests.
The mountain mouse-warbler is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is found in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, where its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests.
The tawny-crowned honeyeater is a passerine bird native to southern 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 Vanikoro flycatcher is a species of monarch flycatcher in the family Monarchidae. It has a slightly disjunct distribution, occurring on Vanikoro island and in Fiji.
The fernwren is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is monotypic within the genus Oreoscopus.
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.
Sericornis is a genus of small, mainly insectivorous birds, the scrubwrens in the family Acanthizidae. Despite the similarity in shape and habits, the true wrens (Troglodytidae) are a quite unrelated group of passerines.
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.
Origma is a genus of passerine birds in the family Acanthizidae.
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.
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Media related to Origma solitaria at Wikimedia Commons
Data related to Origma solitaria at Wikispecies