17

Redthroat (Pyrrholaemus brunneus) Alternate name(s): "Red-throated Scrubwren" Aboriginal name(s): "beritberit" (WA) Size: 11-12 cm Body mass: 9-15 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

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Redthroats are small, inconspicuous birds. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Males have the name-giving red throat, while females have a white throat. Otherwise the two sexes are identical. The chest and flanks are mid-grey, with a light-grey belly, while the back is darker brownish-grey. The wings and uppertail are darker grey yet, with brownish edge-lining on the wing coverts. The light-grey undertail has a white terminal band which shows on the upperside only in the outer tail feathers. They have inconspicuous light-grey eye-rings and lores creating a weak facial mask, which is more prominent in males than in females. Redthroats have dark-brown irises. The straight bill and the legs and feet are dark-grey to black.

Taxonomy, classification See Redthroat 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 Redthroat is available HERE . NB: Reports on ebird of birds submitted by birdwatchers from the Australian Outback tend to be clustered along roads and public areas such as camp grounds; in such cases their distribution is not a good representation of the overall distribution of the species. Redthroats are endemic to the subtropical part of the Australian continent. Their distribution is scattered and patchy over a wide range, extending from near the coastline of WA (except the south-western tip), via parts of SA and the southern NT, into far-western NSW and QLD, plus the far north-western corner of VIC. Redthroats are not found in the Nullarbor, but they do populate parts of the major deserts of eastern WA and western NT/SA. In the Lake Eyre Basin they only occur infrequently (for details refer to a field guide). Redthroats have a strong preference for various types of scrub in the semi-arid to arid Australian interior. They are found in mallee, mulga, saltbush, bluebush, lignum and triodia (spinifex).

Sightings Click here for sighting information R. Plumtree reports finding a Redthroat 20 km North of Hawker, SA, in September 2018. More Redthroats were found along the Strzelecki Track, near the Parachilna Hotel, in November 2018. We found Redthroats ca. 20 km South of Thargomindah, QLD, in June 2019. At the time no photos were obtained, but calls were recorded. M. Eaton reports spotting a pair of Redthroats in Alice Springs, NT, in October 2022.

Photos

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Male Redthroats, left, live up to their name; females have ... a white throat.

MALE

Close-up frontal view of a male Redthroat; note the rufous throat typical of males (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Alice Springs, NT, October 2022]

Close-up frontal view of a male Redthroat (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

Near-frontal view of a male Redthroat looking at the observer (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Redthroat about to take off (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

Near-frontal view of a male Redthroat looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Alice Springs, NT, October 2022]

Near-lateral view of a male Redthroat (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

Lateral view of a male Redthroat (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Redthroat; note the white throat typical of females (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

Frontal view of a female Redthroat looking upwards (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

Near-lateral view of a female Redthroat looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Alice Springs, NT, October 2022]

Lateral view of a female Redthroat (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Alice Springs, NT, October 2022]

Lateral view of a female Redthroat (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Near Hawker, SA, September 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a female Redthroat (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Close-up frontal view of a juvenile(?) Redthroat looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Alice Springs, NT, October 2022]

Close-up near-frontal view of a juvenile(?) Redthroat (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Alice Springs, NT, October 2022]

Lateral view of a juvenile(?) Redthroat foraging on the ground (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile(?) Redthroat issuing its call (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]

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.

redthrt_me_20230611.mp3	(Ctl NT)	Contact calls?	© ME
redthrt_20190618.m4a	(SW QLD)	Territorial calls?	© MD

More Redthroat 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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.