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17

Shy Heathwren (Hylacola cauta) Alternate name(s): "Shy Ground-wren", "Shy Scrub-warbler", "Shy Hylacola", "Mallee Heathwren" Size: 11.5-14 cm Weight: 13-16 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 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 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 Shy Heathwrens are small bushland birds. They have a dark olive-brown back, including the tail, which has a grey terminal band. The rump is chestnut-brown. The front is heavily streaked dark-brown on white, while the flanks and vent are olive. The primaries are black with a prominent white spot at their base. The tips of the outer tail feathers are white. Male Shy Heathwrens have strong white supercilia and prominent olive-brown lores. Females have duller colours, in particular they have a less contrasting facial pattern and less prominent streaking down the front. Juveniles are duller yet, with an olive-brown back and head and a chestnut-brown front without streaks. The belly is greyish. Their only prominent feature is the white spot on the primaries that are visible even when the wings are folded.

Taxonomy, classification See Shy Heathwren 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 Shy Heathwren is available HERE . There are 4 extant races of Shy Heathwrens, which are endemic to southern Australia. The range of nominate race "cauta" extends from far western VIC and the border region with far south-western NSW into the southern part of SA, from the far south-eastern part via the coastal fringe into the Nullarbor. They are not found around Adelaide and to the North of the city, and not on much of Yorke peninsula either. Shy Heathwrens on Kangaroo Island form a separate race, "halmaturina". In central NSW, in a region spanning from Griffith to West Wyalong and to the North of that line, from Lake Cargelligo to Nombinnie Nature Reserve and Yathong Nature Reserve, race "macrorhyncha" is found. Race "whitlocki" populates the south-western corner of WA, from near Esperance, WA, in the East to They are not found around Perth, WA, and from there to the south-western tip of WA. Shy Heathwrens can usually be found in heath or dense shrubby undergrowth of mallee woodland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "cauta" M. Eaton reports finding Shy Heathwrens, race "cauta", at Monarto Conservation Park, near Murray Bridge, SA, in April 2022. All sighting, photographic and audio information presented on this page has been kindly contributed by M. Eaton.

Photos

Race "cauta"

ADULT

MALE

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Shy Heathwren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Monarto Conservation Park, near Murray Bridge, SA, April 2022]

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Shy Heathwren issuing its call (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Monarto Conservation Park, near Murray Bridge, SA, April 2022]

Close-up near-lateral view of a male Shy Heathwren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Monarto Conservation Park, near Murray Bridge, SA, April 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a male Shy Heathwren (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Monarto Conservation Park, near Murray Bridge, SA, April 2022]

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.

shywren_me_20220413.m4a	cauta (S SA)	Territorial song (male)	© ME
shywren_me_20220413_2.m4a	cauta (S SA)	Territorial song (male)	© ME

More Shy Heathwren 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.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Mon, 31 October 2022, 0:27 +00:00