Animalia Life

Atrichornis clamosus
TAXONOMY
Atrichia clamosa Gould, 1844, Western Australia.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Western scrub-bird; French: Atrichorne bruyant; German: Braunbach-Dickichtvogel; Spanish: Achaparrado Occidental. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Male 9.1 in (23 cm), female 7.7 in (19.5 cm); male 1.7 oz (52g); female 1.2 oz (34 g). Upperparts brown with fine dark barring. Rufousbrown on lower belly, grading to offwhite on breast. Male also has black patch on upper breast and throat. Bill, eyes, and legs brown.
DISTRIBUTION
Far southwestern corner of Western Australia.
HABITAT
Low forest, thicket, and heath with dense lower stratum of shrubs and sedges.
BEHAVIOR
Males employ a loud territorial song supplemented by various calls. Mimicry rarely used. Females generally silent, producing only soft calls.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds on invertebrates, and occasionally small vertebrates, flushed from leaf litter or low vegetation.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds April to October. Dome nest similar to rufous scrubbird except only lower half of inside lined with cardboard-like substance. Clutch size is one.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Vulnerable. Recently downgraded from Endangered thanks to the success of an ongoing translocation and management program initiated over 35 years ago. Since rediscovery of the species in 1961, its total population size has been increased from less than 50 to almost 600 breeding territories.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known

Other popular Animals