Western quail-thrush | |
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Nest photographed by Whitlock, East Murchison 1909 | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Clade: | Dinosauria |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Passeriformes |
Family: | Cinclosomatidae |
Genus: | Cinclosoma |
Species: | C. marginatum |
Binomial name | |
Cinclosoma marginatum Sharpe, 1883 | |
Synonyms | |
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Western quail-thrush (Cinclosoma marginatum) is a species of bird in the family Cinclosomatidae. [2] 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. [3]
The species was first described by Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1883, the author distinguishing this species from the quail-thrush Cinclosoma castaneothorax of eastern Australia. John Gould had previously noted the color variation of this western population and included these in an accompanying illustration. [4] Systematic revisions in 2008 (Christidis & Boles) and the 1990s (Sibley & Monroe) recognised the taxon with subspecific status, Cinclosoma castaneothorax marginatum, and reinstated by authorities as a species in 2016 (del Hoyo and Collar). [5]
The common names for this species include western quail-thrush and chestnut-breasted quail-thrush. [6]
A species of Cinclosoma , passerine birds of Australia. It is smaller in size and slighter in build than Cinclosoma castanotum , which is found in other parts of Western Australia. [6] Their breast and flanks are a cinnamon-rufous shade, a paler and different coloration from its counterparts. The crown and back are a solid chestnut color. The female's flanks are a duller orange shade, occasionally without the dark border. In males, the crown may be a dark grey shade. The throat and lower part of the breast are black, and the male displays a chestnut band between these. Instead, females have more of a grey center breast-band in between the black throat and lower breast. Female's coloring is duller compared to the males. Due to the less vibrant colors, there is less contrast throughout the female bird's body. The chin and throat of female western quail-thrushes have a pale buffish color. The feathers of the underparts of the tail are white with a brownish color towards the base, the black margins are most evident when the bird is in flight. There is also white coloring and spotting on the wings. The legs of both males and females vary from a grey to a grey-black shade. Young, juvenile western quail-thrushes have coloring like the females but have a more mottled appearance. Both female and male western quail-thrushes vary from 21 to 25 centimeters in size and on average weigh 65 grams. [4] [6] [7]
Due to the rare sighting of western quail-thrushes, their classification has been a debated topic. They were constantly difficult to spot in the field. The species was previously thought to be a subspecies to the chestnut-breasted quail-thrush and the cinnamon quail-thrush, but now it has full species status. [8]
Western quail-thrushes' songs contain a series of five to eleven whistles that increase in pace at the same pitch. Around the end of their song, notes may sound longer than others and are then followed by one or more short high-pitched notes.
Western quail-thrushes are mainly winter breeders with their breeding season ranging from January to September. Consequently, they lay their eggs around March to September. They are not endangered and are common over most of their area. Western quail-thrushes do not breed at all during the drought. Because these quail-thrushes live in areas where evaporation occurs more than precipitation, they will breed most times after it has rained. Western quail-thrushes build nests that resemble a green bowl of grass, connected with leaves and twigs. The nests have a diameter of around 15 cm across and 5 cm deep, typically placed under a shrub or tree. Two eggs, rarely three, are laid, colored in white and blotched with lavender and chestnut-brown spots. The egg is incubated by both the male and female, but the female specifically broods and feeds the baby birds. Western quail-thrushes do not migrate and will most likely stay in their habitats. [7]
Western quail-thrushes eat arthropods, which are invertebrate animals such as spiders and insects. To find food, they forage on the ground and walk slowly, pecking with their bill on the ground and searching for seeds. As they forage and eat, western quail-thrushes hold their larger, previously found items under one foot as they peck their catch to dismember it. [7]
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 five or six species of whipbirds and wedgebills, but some authors also include the quail-thrushes (Cinclosoma), eight species of ground-dwelling birds found in Australia and New Guinea, and the jewel-babblers (Ptilorrhoa), three or four 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 rail-babbler or Malaysian rail-babbler is a strange, rail-like, brown and pied ground-living bird. It is the only species in the genus Eupetes and family Eupetidae. It lives on the floor of primary forests in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, as well as Borneo. It is distantly related to African crow-like birds. Its population has greatly decreased because much of the lowland primary forest has been cut, and secondary forests usually have too dense a bottom vegetation or do not offer enough shade to be favourable for the species. However, it is locally still common in logged forest or on hill-forest on slopes, and probably not in immediate danger of extinction. The species is poorly known and rarely seen, in no small part due to its shyness.
The chestnut-breasted mannikin, also known as the chestnut-breasted munia or bully bird, is a small brown-backed munia with a black face and greyish crown and nape. It has a broad ferruginous breast bar above a white belly. The species is found in Australia, New Caledonia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. This species has also been introduced to French Polynesia.
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 Tacarcuna wood quail is a species of bird in the family Odontophoridae, the New World quail. It is found in Colombia and Panama.
The Chiriqui quail-dove or rufous-breasted quail-dove is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Costa Rica and Panama.
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 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.
Whitehead's trogon is a species of bird in the family Trogonidae. It is endemic to the island of Borneo, where it is an uncommon resident in primary mountain forest. One of Borneo's largest trogons at 29 to 33 cm long, it is sexually dimorphic. The male is crimson on the head, nape, and underparts, with a black throat and grey chest; the rest of his upperparts are cinnamon-coloured. The female is similarly patterned, but cinnamon-brown where the male is scarlet. The species was first described for science by Richard Bowdler Sharpe in 1888, who named it for British explorer and collector John Whitehead. There are no subspecies.
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.
The copperback quail-thrush is a species of bird in the family Cinclosomatidae. It was split from the chestnut quail-thrush in 2015. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.
A domesticated quail is a domestic form of the quail, a collective name which refers to a group of several small species of fowl. Thousands of years of breeding and domestication have guided the bird's evolution. Humans domesticated quails for meat and egg production; additionally, quails can be kept as pets. Domesticated quails are commonly kept in long wire cages and are fed game bird feed. The most common domesticated type is the Coturnix quail. Quails live on the ground, and rarely fly unless forced to do so.
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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