Habits
Usually singly or in pairs, and occasionally family parties or loose groups.
Food
Seeds of grasses and herbaceous plants. Also native fruits and berries.
Voice
A repeated, 'hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo', each call growing slightly higher and quicker with building excitement. A short, fast, 'whooo', lacking the slight downward slur of the Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera).
Brush Bronzewing (Phaps elegans) [XC621109]
by Drew Davison from Goldie Bushland Reserve, Macedon Ranges Shire, Victoria, Australia (song)
Brush Bronzewing (Phaps elegans) [XC484684]
by Ramit Singal from Wedderburn, Campbelltown City Council, New South Wales, Australia (call)
Nest
Saucer-shaped, composed of twigs, in a thick bush or in the branches of a fallen tree, or on the ground in the shelter of a bush.
Eggs (Guide)
2; smooth, glossy, white; oval or ellipsoidal; about 33 x 25 mm. Incubation: 15 - 18 days; by both sexes, female broods by day.
Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 17 - 20 days.
Subspecies
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
elegans (Temminck, 1809) - South-eastern Queensland (Fraser I) south to south-central South Australia (Eyre Peninsula) and Tasmania.
occidentalis Schodde, 1989 - South-western western Australia from Dongara to vicinity of Point Culver.
Similar Species
Common Bronzewing (Phaps chalcoptera) which is slightly larger, not as plump and less compact, with longer, less-rounded wings and a longer tail.
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