Animalia Life
Ashbyia lovensis
TAXONOMY
Epthianura lovensis Ashby, 1911, Leigh Creek, South Australia.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Gibber chat, desert chat, desert bird; French: Epthianure
d’Ashby; German: Wьstentrugschmдtzer; Spanish: Curruca
Desйrtica.
PHYSICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
5 in (13 cm); 0.65 oz
(18 g). Yellow cheek,
throat, and underparts;
crown and upperparts
are sandy
brown and used as
camouflage on stony
terrain.
DISTRIBUTION
Borders of Queensland,
New South
Wales, South Australia,
and Northern
Territory in central
Australia.
HABITAT
Gibber plains, which
are sparsely vegetated,
stony deserts, and occasionally claypans.
BEHAVIOR
Singly, in pairs, and small flocks. Run along ground and bob
tail. Piping and twittering calls, attractive song.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Gleans invertebrates from ground and sometimes from the air.
Eats seeds.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds mostly in spring, but may at other times as well. Cupshaped
nests made in depressions in ground. Clutches are of
two to four eggs; most aspects of breeding poorly known.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Has possibly benefited from grazing by livestock.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.
Photo Gallery of - Gibberbird
