17

Brown Gerygone (Gerygone mouki) Alternate name(s): "Northern Warbler", "Queensland Fly-eater", "Brown Flyeater", "Citronbird", "Brown Warbler" Size: 9-11 cm Body mass: 5-6 g

Australia: Family Group 17 Family Group 17 Table Spotted Pardalote Forty-spotted Pardalote Red-browed Pardalote Striated Pardalote Large-billed Scrubwren Atherton Scrubwren White-browed Scrubwren Spotted Scrubwren Tasmanian Scrubwren Yellow-throated Scrubwren Pilotbird Rock Warbler Chestnut-rumped Heathwren Shy Heathwren Striated Fieldwren Rufous Fieldwren Fernwren Scrubtit Speckled Warbler Redthroat Western Gerygone Brown Gerygone Mangrove Gerygone Dusky Gerygone Large-billed Gerygone Green-backed Gerygone Fairy Gerygone White-throated Gerygone Weebill Yellow Thornbill Striated Thornbill Buff-rumped Thornbill Yellow-rumped Thornbill Western Thornbill Slender-billed Thornbill Chestnut-rumped Thornbill Brown Thornbill Inland Thornbill Slaty-backed Thornbill Tasmanian Thornbill Mountain Thornbill Southern Whiteface Chestnut-breasted Whiteface Banded Whiteface Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Brown Gerygones are very small birds found in dense forests. Their front, from the throat down to the undertail coverts, is light-brown to fawn, with a grey chin. The back is brown, with dark grey-brown flight feathers and a dark grey-brown tail. They have prominent, broad white eyebrows extending from the frons to above the grey ear patches. The irises are red. The bill and lores are dark-grey, the legs and feet are grey. Race "richmondi" is browner than the other races. NB: The inside of the feet of Brown Gerygones is orange. Juveniles even have entirely orange feet and also partly orange legs - this distinguishing feature is not described in any of our field guides. Twitcher's tip Compared to Mangrove Gerygones, Brown Gerygones have a darker, more brownish front. Compared to Large-billed Gerygones, Brown Gerygones have a much more prominent eyebrow.

Taxonomy, classification See Brown Gerygone at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Brown Gerygone is available HERE . Brown Gerygones are endemic to Australia. There are three races of Brown Gerygones, all of which reside close to the East coast of the continent. Nominate race "mouki" is found North of the tropic of Capricorn and is one of two races that live in the tablelands just behind the coastal fringe, in this case to the North and the South of Townsville, QLD. Race "amalia" lives in the tablelands to the North of Eungellah NP, behind the Whitsundays. The only race outside the tropics, "richmondi", lives in a narrow coastal strip from about Gladstone, QLD, to the NSW/VIC border, outside the breeding season also to in (near-coastal) eastern VIC, up to about Melbourne. Brown Gerygones are usually found in dense, wet undergrowth, e.g. in rainforest, often near gullies, or in mangroves.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "mouki" J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours spotted Brown Gerygones, race "mouki", at Crater Lakes in the Atherton Tablelands, QLD, in July 2023. Another was found at Hasties Swamp, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, in August 2023. M. Eaton reports finding Brown Gerygones, race "mouki", at Atherton, QLD, in June 2024. Race "richmondi" A Brown Gerygone, race "richmondi", was first observed by us at Ourimbah Creek RTA Reserve, Ourimbah, NSW, in June 2011. A. Morris's help with these observations is greatly appreciated. B. Hensen found them nesting at Ourimbah Creek in December 2017. Next a pair of Brown Gerygones, race "richmondi", was seen nesting at Wingham Brush NR in September 2011. Subsequently, Brown Gerygones, race "richmondi", have been spotted by us in various locations along the NSW coast. A. Ross-Taylor reports spotting Brown Gerygones, race "richmondi", at Mt. Tamborine, QLD, in August 2013. M. Mearns reports spotting Brown Gerygones, race "richmondi", at Bunya Mountains NP, QLD, in December 2015. This location is outside the species' nominal range, which is restricted to the (near-)coastal fringe. M. Eaton reports finding Brown Gerygones, race "richmondi", at Yarraman State Forest, QLD, in May 2020.

Photos

NOTE: The inside of the feet of Brown Gerygones is orange. Juveniles even have entirely orange feet and also partly orange legs - this distinguishing feature is not described in any of our field guides.

Race "mouki"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Close-up frontal view of a Brown Gerygone looking upwards (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Crater Lakes, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, July 2023]

Close-up near-lateral view of a Brown Gerygone (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Crater Lakes, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, July 2023]

Close-up lateral view of a Brown Gerygone looking upwards (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Hasties Swamp, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, August 2023]

Ventral view of a Brown Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Atherton, QLD, June 2024]

Race "richmondi"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Brown Gerygone
[Dorrigo NP, NSW, January 2011]

Frontal view of a Brown Gerygone looking upwards
[Ourimbah Creek, Ourimbah, NSW, June 2011]

Frontal/ventral view of a Brown Gerygone in bright sunlight; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 22 September 2016
[Dorrigo NP, NSW, September 2016]

Close-up near-frontal/ventral view of a Brown Gerygone looking upwards
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2012]

Lateral view of a Brown Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Yarraman State Forest, QLD, May 2020]

Lateral view of a Brown Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Yarraman State Forest, QLD, May 2020]

Lateral/ventral view of a Brown Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Yarraman State Forest, QLD, May 2020]

Lateral view of a Brown Gerygone looking away from the observer, showing the brown hindneck and wing plumage
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2012]

Partly obscured near-dorsal view of a Brown Gerygone
[Dorrigo NP, NSW, March 2015]

Near-lateral view of a hovering Brown Gerygone, showing the underwing and the undertail pattern
[Near Wyong, NSW, July 2013]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a juvenile Brown Gerygone looking towards the observer - note the orange feet
[Limeburners Creek NP, NSW, October 2013]

Lateral view of a juvenile Brown Gerygone
[Limeburners Creek NP, NSW, October 2013]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Brown Gerygone
[Limeburners Creek NP, NSW, October 2013]

Ventral view of a juvenile Brown Gerygone
[Dorrigo NP, NSW, January 2011]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Sep - Feb

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: 12 - 14 days

Fledging age: ca. 14 - 21 days

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Domed hanging bottle

Material: Bark fibre, roots, webs; moss, lichens attached; feather, plant down lining

Height above ground: 2 - 5 m

Looking into the entrance of a Brown Gerygone's nest
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2012]

Brown Gerygone entering the nest; there was a lot of activity - the two adults were clearly feeding chicks
[Wingham Brush NR, NSW, September 2012]

Brown Gerygone nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2024]

Here one of the owners is working on the Brown Gerygone nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lamington NP, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2024]

Brown Gerygone nest (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Ourimbah Creek RTA Reserve, NSW, December 2017]

Brown Gerygone collecting nesting material (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Mt. Tamborine, QLD, August 2013]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size:17 x 13 mm

Colour: Creamy with mid- to dark-brown specks

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

brgery_me_20240622.m4a	mouki (N QLD)	Various	© ME
brgery_me_20240621.m4a	mouki (N QLD)	Various (+ Victoria's Riflebird)	© ME
brgery_me_20200927_2.m4a	mouki (N QLD)	Various (+ Bower's Shrike-thrush)	© ME
brgery_me_20200927.m4a	mouki (N QLD)	? (+ Rufous Shrike-thrush)	© ME
brgery_20160921.m4a	richmondi (NE NSW)	Contact call?	© MD
brgery_art_20131210.m4a	richmondi (SE QLD)	Pair Q&A	© ART
brgery_20150328.mp3	richmondi (N NSW)	Various	© MD
brgery_20150328_2.mp3	richmondi (N NSW)	Various	© MD
brgery_20160314.mp3	richmondi (S QLD)	Various	© MD
brgery_20150820_3.mp3	richmondi (N NSW)	?	© MD
brgery_20150820_4.mp3	richmondi (N NSW)	?	© MD
brgery_20150820.mp3	richmondi (N NSW)	?	© MD

We have also recorded the wing beats of a Brown Gerygone.

brgery_20150820_2.mp3

richmondi (N NSW)

Various

© MD

More Brown Gerygone sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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