| Shy heathwren | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Acanthizidae |
| Genus: | Hylacola |
| Species: | H. cauta |
| Binomial name | |
| Hylacola cauta Gould, 1843 | |
| Subspecies [2] | |
| |
| Synonyms | |
Calamanthus cautus Contents | |
The shy heathwren (Hylacola cauta) is a species of small bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia. They inhabit mostly mallee woodland that has relatively dense shrub and heath understorey.
Their taxonomic name was formerly Calamanthus cautus—classing them as fieldwrens—until they were renamed in 2008. [3] The generic name Hylacola derives from the Greek hylē 'woodland' and the Latin -cola 'dweller'. [4] The specific epithet derives from the Latin cautus 'shy, wary'. [4] Common names for the species include shy hylacola [1] and mallee heathwren. [5] Four subspecies have been recognised: the nominate subspecies Hylacola cauta cauta in South Australia and Victoria; H. c. macrorhynchus in New South Wales; H. c. halmaturina on Kangaroo Island; and H. c. whitlocki in Western Australia. [6] [7]
The birds are cock-tailed with a chestnut rump that darkens towards the tip. Their feathers are white with brown streaking underneath and greyish-brown on the back and crown. They have a white eyebrow, tail tip and patch on the flight feathers, and a black bill. Their eyes are brown to yellowish-brown and legs are slate-brown. Females have slightly duller colouring, and immature birds are duller again with some of these being fawn-coloured underneath. [8] [9] They have a total length when adults of 12–14 cm (4.7–5.5 in). [8] [6]
They are uncommon residents across a wide part of southern Australia. Ranging from near West Wyalong in New South Wales to the Murchison River in Western Australia. [8] In New South Wales, they are found in two isolated populations: one between Leeton, Willandra National Park, Nymagee and West Wyalong; and the other from Balranald to Trentham Cliffs. Within the state they are seen as a threatened and vulnerable, largely due to human-wrought habitat loss, and predation by foxes and cats. [9]
Shy heathwrens feed mostly on ground-dwelling insects, and rarely on seeds.
Their ground-level nests are dome-shaped and usually concealed within grass tussocks or shrubs. [9] They typically lay 2 or 3 freckled and pinkish eggs. [8]
The white-flanked antwren is a species of bird in subfamily Thamnophilinae of family Thamnophilidae, the "typical antbirds". It is found from Honduras to Panama in Central America, in every mainland South American country except Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay, and on Trinidad.
The pied butcherbird is a songbird native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1837, it is a black and white bird 28 to 32 cm long with a long hooked bill. Its head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood; the mantle and much of the tail and wings are also black. The neck, underparts and outer wing feathers are white. The juvenile and immature birds are predominantly brown and white. As they mature their brown feathers are replaced by black feathers. There are two recognised subspecies of pied butcherbird.
The eastern spinebill is a species of honeyeater found in south-eastern Australia in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas of Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Hobart. It is around 15 cm long, and has a distinctive black, white and chestnut plumage, a red eye, and a long downcurved bill.
Rankins Springs is a village in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia in Carrathool Shire and on the Mid-Western Highway. At the 2011 census, Rankins Springs had a population of 299 residents living in 145 private dwellings. This dropped to 174 in 2016, but rebounded to 208 in 2021. The settlement is strung out along the Mid-Western Highway and adjacent railway line. The main agricultural activities of the district around Rankins Springs are the growing of crops such as wheat and oats, and beef-cattle.
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The chestnut-rumped thornbill is a small passerine bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia.
The thick-billed grasswren is a species of bird in the family Maluridae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.
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.
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The tepui spinetail is a species of bird in the Furnariinae subfamily of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Brazil, Guyana, and Venezuela.
The chestnut-rumped heathwren is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae. It is endemic to temperate and subtropical forests and heathlands of 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 black-tailed leaftosser is a species of bird in the subfamily Sclerurinae, the leaftossers and miners, of the ovenbird family Furnariidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela.
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.
The Central NSW Mallee Important Bird Area is an irregularly shaped 2500 km2 tract of land in western New South Wales, Australia. It lies near the small town of Mount Hope and comprises the nature reserves of Yathong, Nombinnie and Round Hill, with some unreserved crown land, containing remnant mallee woodland and shrubland habitat. It was identified and classified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) because it supports isolated key populations of the malleefowl and the red-lored whistler. It is also at the centre of distribution in New South Wales for other mallee bird species, including the shy heathwren, striated grasswren, southern scrub-robin and chestnut quail-thrush.
The Riverland Mallee Important Bird Area comprises a 12,200 square kilometres tract of mallee habitat and riverine woodland extending from near Waikerie in the Riverland region in eastern South Australia north-eastwards into south-western New South Wales.
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The Charcoal Tank Nature Reserve is a protected nature reserve in the central western region of New South Wales, Australia. The 86.4-hectare (213-acre) reserve is situated 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) south of West Wyalong and may be accessed via the Newell Highway and The Charcoal Tank Road. The reserve is an important refuge for native flora and fauna in a highly fragmented landscape, one in which the majority of the original vegetation has been removed.
