Adults: Head, crest, back, wings and tail, olive-grey. Tail feathers, except central two, tipped white. Throat, black, flanked by white lines. Underparts, dull-grey. Belly, center has white patches. Eye, red. Bill, black. Legs, dark-brown or slate-black.
Immatures: Olive-brown with rufous throat.
Other Names (World)
Western Whipbird, Black-throated Whipbird, Mallee Whipbird, Mallee Black-throated Whipbird, Mallee Western Whipbird, Coachwhip Bird, Psophodes, Rainbird
Status LC
Habitat destruction and degradation through clearance for agriculture and fire are the main threats.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Habits
Usually singly or in pairs. Occasionally small family groups.
Food
Invertabrates, some seeds and occasionally lizards.
Voice
Peculier grating of 4 slow notes, like a creaking cartwheel. 'Let's scratch, teach-er', beginning softly, swelling. Female answers 'pick it up'; chittering alarm call. Or 'it for teachers pet', probably by male and 'ti tickerr-tear', probably by female, given in call-and-answer.
Black-throated Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis) [XC327372]
by Barry Edmonston from Waychinicup National Park (near Cheynes), Western Australia, Australia (song)
Black-throated Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis) [XC464013]
by Phil Gregory from Cheynes, City of Albany, Western Australia, Australia (song)
Nest
Bowl-shaped, constructed of bark and twigs, and lined with wiry grass, up to 2 meters above ground under mallee, banksia or swordgrass.
Eggs (Guide)
2; pale-blue; sparingly spotted with black; oval; 27 x 19 mm. Incubation about 21 days; by both sexes.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 10 - 14 days. Fed by both parents.
Subspecies
Has been proposed that subspecies oberon, leucogaster and lashmari form a separate species (Mallee Whipbird (Psophodes leucogaster)), distinct from nominate, but such treatment not supported by data from genetic study.
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:
nigrogularis Gould, 1844 - Around Two Peoples Bay, south-western WA, and formerly south-western WA coast between Perth and Albany.
oberon Mason, IJ & Schodde, 1991 - Mallee heaths in south-east of south-western WA, between Lake Grace - Pingrup - Stirling Ranges, and Hopetoun, formerly north-west to Wongon Hills.
leucogaster Howe and Ross, 1933 - South-central Australia. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Mallee Whipbird (Psophodes leucogaster).
lashmari Schodde and Mason, 1991 - Kangaroo Island, SA. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Mallee Whipbird (Psophodes leucogaster).
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