Animalia Life

Pachycephala rufiventris
SUBFAMILY
Pachycephalinae
TAXONOMY
Sylvia rufiventris Latham, 1801, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Five subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Rufous-breasted whistler; French: Siffleur itchong; German: Schlichtmantel-Dickkopf; Spanish: Chiflador Rufo.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
6.5–7.1 in (16.3–18.1 cm); 0.7–1.0 oz (20–27 g). Gray with rufous underparts and white patch on throat.
DISTRIBUTION
P. r. rufiventris: east, central, west and south Australia; P. r. pallida: northeast Australia; P. r. minor: Melville and Bathurst Islands; P. r. falcata: northwest and north central Australia; P. r. xanthetraea: New Caledonia.
HABITAT
Open eucalypt forest and woodland, drier woodland and scrubs.
BEHAVIOR
Territorial. Very vocal during breeding and can be stimulated into bouts of singing by sudden loud noises. Tame, easily attracted by whistling. Migratory in southeast Australia; elsewhere partly migratory, nomadic, or sedentary.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Forages sedately in middle to upper vegetation layers for insects, spiders, and berries.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Breeds Sep.–Feb., one or two broods per season. Female builds nest, but both sexes incubate and care for young. Nest is a bowl of twigs and grasses, bound with spider web, and lined with grass and rootlets; it is placed up to 33 ft (10 m) above ground. Eggs, usually two or three in a clutch, are light olivegreen with dark brown and lavender-gray blotches. Incubation 15 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened. Common and widespread.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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