Nest
Dome-shaped, with a hooded side-entrance, composed of bark-fiber, rootlets and grasses, decorated with moss and cobweb, lined with plant fiber and feathers, built mostly in caves, but also in sheds, under culverts, in drains and shafts. When attched to the ceiling of caves the upper portion of the nest is built almost entirely of cobweb.
Eggs (Guide)
Usually 3; glossy, white, sometimes with faint black specks; oval; about 20 x 15 mm. Incubation: 21 - 27 days.
Young
Altricial, nidcolous. Fledge in about 16 - 20 days. Fed by both parents.
Subspecies
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Pilotbird (Pycnoptilus floccosus) which is larger, has a rich buff forehead to breast, a red eye, the tail usually carried high and flicked up and down.
Compare Images
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet