North-eastern Australia: north-eastern Queensland, from near Cooktown south to Mt Spec (in Paluma Range, near Townsville), extending inland to Herberton Range and Cardwell Range.
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).
Status LC
Some of its habitat has been cleared for agriculture but all logging has ceased. There is some fragmentation of its former habitat but in other areas the rainforest is expanding.
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.
Habits
Singly or loose pairs.
Food
Arthropods and small vertebrates.
Voice
A penetrating whistle. Harsh scoldings. High 'chips'.
Fernwren (Oreoscopus gutturalis) [XC197425]
by J.V. Moore from Mt. Lewis, Julatten, Queensland, Australia (alarm call)
Fernwren (Oreoscopus gutturalis) [XC353125]
by Marc Anderson from Mt Lewis, Atherton Tableland, Qld, Australia (call)
Nest
Dome-shaped, with aside-entrance, composed of fresh green mosses and fine black fern-stems, built on the ground among ferns or partly into a hole in a bank.
Eggs (Guide)
2; glossy, white, sometimes faintly speckled red-brown at the larger end; oval; about 22 x 17 mm. Incubation: about 29 days; possibly by female.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 21 - 23 days.
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