Black-throated whipbird

The black-throated whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis) is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations in Southwest Australia. It is predominantly olive green in colour. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the white-bellied whipbird (Psophodes leucogaster), so shares the common name "western whipbird".

Black-throated whipbird

Least Concern  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Psophodidae
Genus: Psophodes
Species:
P. nigrogularis
Binomial name
Psophodes nigrogularis
Gould, 1844

Taxonomy

The black-throated whipbird was described by the English ornithologist John Gould in 1844 and given its current binomial name Psophodes nigrogularis.[2]

Two subspecies are recognised.[3] Both are under threat to some degree.

  • Psophodes nigrogularis nigrogularis: (Endangered) The Western heath subspecies is now restricted to a small patch east of Albany, having disappeared from large parts of its range due to land clearance.[4]
  • P. n. oberon: (Rare) The Western mallee subspecies is found in scattered populations between the Stirling Ranges and Ravensthorpe. It is apparently common in the Fitzgerald River National Park.[5]

The white-bellied whipbird (Psophodes leucogaster) was formerly treated as conspecific with the black-throated whipbird. It was promoted to species status based on an analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences published in 2017.[6] The Clements Checklist refers to this species with the common name western whipbird (black-throated) to distinguish it from P. leucogaster (white-bellied).[7]

Description

The black-throated whipbird is slim bird some 21–25 cm (8.3–9.8 in) in length. It is olive green with a black throat and a narrow white cheek-patch edged with black on its face. It has a small crest and a long dark olive-green tail tipped with white, its underparts are a paler olive colour. The bill is black with blackish feet. Juveniles are a duller olive-brown in colour and lack the white cheek stripes and dark throat.[8]

Breeding occurs in spring; a bowl of twigs and sticks lined with softer material such as grasses, located in shrubs or trees less than 1–2 m (3 ft 3 in–6 ft 7 in) above the ground. A clutch of two eggs, pale blue with blackish splotches and spots, measuring 26 mm × 19 mm (1.02 in × 0.75 in).[9]

gollark: Saved.
gollark: ARing!
gollark: I can catch.
gollark: I'll probably be available for catching (if I don't get anything cool today) and definitely AR.
gollark: TimeZones™. They're annoying.

References
  1. BirdLife International (2012). "Psophodes nigrogularis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2013.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. Gould, John (1844). The Birds of Australia. Volume 3. London: self. Plate 16 and text.
  3. Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2018). "Australasian babblers, logrunners, satinbirds, painted berrypeckers, wattlebirds, whipbirds". World Bird List Version 8.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  4. Garnett. p158
  5. Garnett. p159
  6. Burbidge, A.H.; Joseph, L.; Toon, A.; White, L.C.; McGuire, A.; Austin, J.J. (2017). "A case for realigning species limits in the southern Australian whipbirds long recognised as the Western Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis)". Emu. 117 (3): 254–263. doi:10.1080/01584197.2017.1313685.
  7. "Clements Checklist: Updates & Corrections – August 2017 | Clements Checklist". www.birds.cornell.edu. Cornell University. Retrieved 6 July 2018.
  8. Simpson K, Day N, Trusler P (1993). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Ringwood, Victoria: Viking O'Neil. p. 392. ISBN 0-670-90478-3.
  9. Beruldsen, G (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self. p. 346. ISBN 0-646-42798-9.

Sources
  • Garnett, S. (1993) Threatened and Extinct Birds Of Australia. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. National Library, Canberra. ISSN 0812-8014
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