Australian golden whistler

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Australian golden whistler
Male
Female, Queensland, Australia

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Pachycephalidae
Genus: Pachycephala
Species:
P. pectoralis
Binomial name
Pachycephala pectoralis
(Latham, 1801)
Subspecies

See text

Synonyms
  • Muscicapa pectoralis
  • Pachycephala gutturalis

The Australian golden whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) or golden whistler, is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia (except the interior and most of the north).[2] Most populations are resident, but some in south-eastern Australia migrate north during the winter. Its taxonomy is highly complex and remains a matter of dispute, with some authorities including as many as 59 subspecies of the golden whistler (one of the highest numbers of subspecies in any bird),[3] while others treat several of these as separate species.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Australian golden whistler was originally described in the genus Muscicapa by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801.[4]

Subspecies

The taxonomy of the golden whistler

taxa
from Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji as subspecies of P. pectoralis, in which case the combined species simply is known as the golden whistler (a common name sometimes also used exclusively for the Australian species).

Presently, six remaining subspecies are recognized:[8]

  • P. p. pectoralis - (Latham, 1801): Found in eastern Australia
  • Norfolk golden whistler (P. p. xanthoprocta) - Gould, 1838: Originally described as a separate species. Found on Norfolk Island (Australia).
  • Lord Howe golden whistler (P. p. contempta) - Hartert, 1898: Originally described as a separate species. Found on Lord Howe Island (Australia).
  • P. p. youngi - Mathews, 1912: Found in south-eastern Australia
  • P. p. glaucura - Gould, 1845: Originally described as a separate species. Found in
    Bass Strait Islands
    (Australia)
  • P. p. fuliginosa - Vigors & Horsfield, 1827: Originally described as a separate species. Found in south-central Australia

Some authorities also consider the following related species as subspecies of the Australian golden whistler:[5]

Additionally, all except the

nominate subspecies of the Melanesian whistler are sometimes included as subspecies of P. pectoralis (in which case P. caledonica is known as the New Caledonian whistler).[9] Historically even the New Caledonian, Tongan and Samoan whistler have been treated as subspecies of P. pectoralis.[9] Strong published evidence in favour of either treatment is limited, and further study is warranted to resolve the situation.[9]

Description

Male, Queensland, Australia
A juvenile Australian golden whistler
Mallacoota
, Australia
Song of the Australian golden whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) recorded October 22, 2018, in
Mallacoota
, Victoria, Australia

The male has a bright yellow underside and nape,

coverts. Both sexes have a black bill, dark legs and red-brown eyes.[9]

Australian golden whistlers have a strong, musical voice.[2]

Distribution and habitat

The Australian golden whistler can be found in almost any wooded habitat, especially dense forests. It eats berries, insects, spiders, and other small

mixed-species feeding flocks
.

Behaviour

This species breeds between September and January. Male and female both work on the nest, which is a shallow bowl made of twigs, grass, and bark, and bound together with spider web. Only one brood is raised per season and both birds share incubation and care of young. Eggs hatch 15 days after they are laid and the young leave the nest after 12 days.

Status

The Australian golden whistler is considered to be of

least concern,[1] and it is generally described as common to fairly common.[9]

The Norfolk golden whistler (P. p. xanthoprocta) declined for many years due to

habitat loss and fragmentation and possibly also due to introduced predators such as the black rat.[9] Most of the population is now restricted to the Norfolk Island National Park.[9] This has resulted in it being listed as vulnerable by the Australian Government.[10] Another island subspecies, the Lord Howe golden whistler (P. p. contempta) remains common,[9] but was listed as vulnerable by the Australian Government due to its small range.[11] It is not listed anymore.[12]

Meehan Range, Tasmania


References

  1. ^
    doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T103693368A118692098.en
    . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. ^
    ISBN 0-7136-3930-X
    .
  3. ^ "Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive". Retrieved Oct 19, 2016.
  4. ^ Latham, John (1801). Supplementum indicis ornithologici sive systematis ornithologiae (in Latin). London: Leigh & Sotheby. p. li.
  5. ^
    ISBN 978-0-7136-8695-1
    .
  6. ^ Gill, F & D Donsker (Eds). 2016. IOC World Bird List (v 6.3). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.6.3. Accessed 19 October 2016.
  7. ISBN 0-7136-6536-X
    .
  8. doi:10.14344/ioc.ml.6.3
    .
  9. ^
    ISBN 978-84-96553-42-2
  10. ^ Pachycephala pectoralis xanthoprocta — Golden Whistler (Norfolk Island). Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts. Accessed 10 February 2010.
  11. ^ List of Extinct, Threatened and Near Threatened Australian birds. Archived October 5, 2012, at the Wayback Machine The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000. Accessed 10 February 2010.
  12. DEWHA
    . Accessed 10 February 2010.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pachycephala pectoralis.
Wikispecies has information related to Pachycephala pectoralis.
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