Olive Whistler
Encyclopedia
The Olive Whistler, Pachycephala olivacea is a species of bird
of the whistler family Pachycephalidae
that is native to southeastern Australia
. By an untrained eye, they can be mistaken for female Golden Whistler
s.
Adult birds are around 18–20 cm (7–8 in) long, and have an overall olive brown plumage with a streaked white throat. The male has a dark grey head, pale grey breast and red-tinged buff belly and rump. The female lacks the red tinge, and has brown underparts. The legs, bill and eyes of both sexes are a brown-black. The melodious call has been likened to, "I'll get you", or "You're cranky", and is possibly the most musical of all whistlers.
The Olive Whistler is found from the McPherson Range in far southeast Queensland south through New South Wales and into Victoria and southeastern South Australia, Flinders and King Island and Tasmania. The habitat is mainly wet forest, and Antarctic beech forest in northern New South Wales. An uncommon species, it is considered of Least Concern (IUCN) nationally, but Vulnerable in New South Wales due to habitat fragmentation and feral cats and foxes. It is predominantly insectivorous.
Olive Whistlers nest from September to December, raising one brood during this period. The nest is a fragile bowl of twigs, grasses and bits of bark lined with softer plant material and bound with spiderwebs in the fork of a tree around 2 m (7 ft) above the ground. A clutch of two or three oval eggs are laid, 20 x 28 mm and shiny cream with brown, black and lavender spots and blotches (more on larger end).
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
of the whistler family Pachycephalidae
Pachycephalidae
The family Pachycephalidae, collectively the whistlers, includes the whistlers, shrike-thrushes, shrike-tits, pitohuis and Crested Bellbird, and is part of the ancient Australo-Papuan radiation of songbirds. Its members range from small to medium in size, and occupy most of Australasia...
that is native to southeastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. By an untrained eye, they can be mistaken for female Golden Whistler
Golden Whistler
The Australian Golden Whistler is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia and in mountain forest in the Snow Mountains in the Papua Province of Indonesia. Most populations are resident, but some in south-eastern Australia migrate north during the winter...
s.
Adult birds are around 18–20 cm (7–8 in) long, and have an overall olive brown plumage with a streaked white throat. The male has a dark grey head, pale grey breast and red-tinged buff belly and rump. The female lacks the red tinge, and has brown underparts. The legs, bill and eyes of both sexes are a brown-black. The melodious call has been likened to, "I'll get you", or "You're cranky", and is possibly the most musical of all whistlers.
The Olive Whistler is found from the McPherson Range in far southeast Queensland south through New South Wales and into Victoria and southeastern South Australia, Flinders and King Island and Tasmania. The habitat is mainly wet forest, and Antarctic beech forest in northern New South Wales. An uncommon species, it is considered of Least Concern (IUCN) nationally, but Vulnerable in New South Wales due to habitat fragmentation and feral cats and foxes. It is predominantly insectivorous.
Olive Whistlers nest from September to December, raising one brood during this period. The nest is a fragile bowl of twigs, grasses and bits of bark lined with softer plant material and bound with spiderwebs in the fork of a tree around 2 m (7 ft) above the ground. A clutch of two or three oval eggs are laid, 20 x 28 mm and shiny cream with brown, black and lavender spots and blotches (more on larger end).