Animalia Life

Epthianura tricolor
TAXONOMY
Epthianura tricolor Gould, 1841, Liverpool Plains, New South Wales, Australia.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Tricolored chat, crimson tang, red canary; French: Epthianure tricolore; German: Scharlachtrugschmдtzer; Spanish: Curruca Carmesн. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS 4.7 in (12 cm); 0.4 oz (11 g). Brownish upperparts with white throat and crimson crown and underparts.
DISTRIBUTION
Inland, western, and southern coasts of Australia, may break out into southeastern and eastern Australia.
HABITAT
Arid and semi-arid shrubland with saltbush, acacia, or other shrubs; occasionally, grassland or farmland.
BEHAVIOR
Small but highly mobile flocks in nonbreeding season. Metallic, whistling, and twittering calls.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Takes insects and other invertebrates from the ground and low shrubs, occasionally from the air. Eats seeds and probes flowers for nectar.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds as loosely associated pairs. Builds cup nest in low shrubs up to 3 ft (0.9 m). Clutches are of two to five eggs; incubation by both sexes for 10–14 days; fledges at 10 days. Both parents brood and feed young, and show distraction displays.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Common and widespread, but numbers vary greatly at any locality.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
An attractive bird often observed by desert visitors.

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