Food
Insects procured among branches and leaves of tall trees, in the undergrowtrh, and occasionally, on the ground, and often spiders and occasionally snails.
Voice
A cheerful, sharp, loud, 'chiwip-chiwip-chiwip'. A faster, scratchy, 'chizip-chzipchzip', a piercing, 'chweeip-chweeip'. A scolding, 'kzzip-kzzip-kzzip'. Also mimics other small birds.
Nest
Large, oval-shaped, with a side-entrance, composed of leaves, moss and grass, lined with feathers, in a drooping branch of a leafy tree, in a tree-fern or in vines, or a deserted nest of a Yellow-throated Scrubwren (Sericornis citreogularis).
Eggs (Guide)
3 or 4; lustrous, off-white to pale purple-brown, minutely speckled dark brown, forming a zone at the larger end; long-oval; about 19 x 14 mm.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 13 days.
Subspecies
Part of a species group that also includes Large Scrubwren (Sericornis nouhuysi), Perplexing Scrubwren (Sericornis virgatus) and Tropical Scrubwren (Sericornis beccarii). Sometimes treated as conspecific with Tropical Scrubwren (Sericornis beccarii), and apparently intergrades extensively with it in north-eastern Australia, but the two differ significantly in vocalizations and behaviour, and generally also in plumage. Species name sometimes erroneously emended to "magnirostris", but original name is not a valid adjectival form, and is therefore invariable.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
magnirostra (Gould, 1838) - Coastal and subcoastal eastern Australia east of the Great Divide, from the Clarke Ranges, central-eastern Qld, south to east Gippsland, Vic.
viridior Mathews, 1912 - North-eastern Qld from Mt Amos - Big Tableland, south to the Paluma Ranges.
howei Mathews, 1912 - West Gippsland and Strzelecki Ranges, Vic.
Similar Species
Atherton Scrubwren (Sericornis keri) which is darker and tends to forage on or near the ground.
References
See References.
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