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Redthroat
(Pyrrholaemus brunneus)
: "Red-throated Scrubwren"
Aboriginal name(s): "beritberit" (WA)
Size: 11-12 cm
Weight: 9-15 g
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Physical description |
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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.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Redthroat
at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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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).
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Sightings |
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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.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this page
has been kindly contributed by R. Plumtree.
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Photos |
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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Close-up frontal view of a male Redthroat; note the rufous
throat typical of males (photo courtesy of
R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
Close-up frontal view of a male Redthroat about to take off
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
Frontal view of a male Redthroat (photo courtesy of
R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
Near-lateral view of a male Redthroat; note the rufous
throat typical of males (photo courtesy of
R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
Lateral view of a male Redthroat; note the rufous
throat typical of males (photo courtesy of
R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
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FEMALE |
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Frontal view of a female Redthroat; note the white
throat typical of males (photo courtesy of
R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
Frontal view of a female Redthroat (photo courtesy of
R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
Near-lateral view of a female Redthroat (photo courtesy of
R. Plumtree)
[Near Hawker, SA, September 2018]
Lateral view of a female Redthroat foraging on the ground
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
Lateral view of a singing female Redthroat (photo courtesy of
R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
Near-dorsal view of a female Redthroat (photo courtesy of
R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki Track, near Parachilna Hotel, SA, November 2018]
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Call(s)/Song |
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For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The
interpretation of their meaning is our own; are welcome.
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.