Habits
Singly or in pairs, occasionally small groups.
Food
Insects, but occasionally seeds.
Voice
Song is a clear, sharp, musical sequence of notes, beginning with several high, thin squeaks, then stronger, a touch of buzzing rattle that fades away. Harsh scolding in alarm.
Nest
Dome-shaped, with a side-entrance, composed of bark and grasses and lined with finer grasses or other soft material, on or near the ground.
Eggs (Guide)
2 or 3; pale olive-grey, minutely freckled with brown, often forming a zone at the larger end; oval to tappered-oval; about 20 x 14 mm. Incubation: by female.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 10 - 38 days. Fed by both parents.
Subspecies
Often placed in genus Calamanthus. Forms a species pair with Chestnut-rumped Heathwren (Calamanthus pyrrhopygius).
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
cauta (Gould, 1843) - South-western Murray - Mallee, from northern Bendigo district and Hattah - Ouyen, Vic, west to nortrhern Flinders Ranges and Yorke and Eyre Peninsulas.
macrorhyncha (Schodde & Mason, IJ, 1999) - Central New South Wales mallee between West Wyalong, Nymagee, Roto and Griffith.
halmaturina (Mathews, 1912) - Kangaroo Island, SA.
whitlocki (Mathews, 1912) - South-western WA from the western Great Australian Bight to Esperance - Norseman and the Stirling Range - Wagin.
Similar Species
Chestnut-rumped Heathwren (Calamanthus pyrrhopygius) which lacks the white bases of primaries and has a less pronounced eyebrow.
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