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Speckled Warbler (Pyrrholaemus sagittatus) Alternate name(s): "Little Field-lark", "Little Wren", "Speckled Jack", "Blood-tit", "Jenny-wren", "Chocolatebird" Size: 12-13 cm Body mass: 11-15 g

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Speckled Warblers are small bushland birds. They have prominent white lores and eyebrows that extend around the brownish ear patch. The cap is brown, with fine white striation. The back is broadly streaked black and olive, the front (throat to belly) is boldly striated with blackish streaks on off-white background. The flight feathers are black with a thin white leading edge. The tail is olive and the outer tail feathers have a white terminal band. The vent is cinnamon. Male Speckled Warblers have a black streak above the white eyebrow, females a chestnut one. The irises are dark-orange; the bill, legs and feet are grey. Juveniles resemble females with bold striation down the front.

Taxonomy, classification See Speckled Warbler 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 Speckled Warbler is available HERE . Speckled Warblers are endemic to Australia. They are found only in the East and South-East of the Australian continent, southward of about the tropic of Capricorn. Their range includes the Great Dividing Range from about Rockhampton, QLD, to just North of Melbourne, VIC. They are not found along a narrow coastal strip North of the Hunter River, NSW, but their range extends inland as far as the line Bourke-Cobar in NSW. Speckled Warblers have a preference for dry forest and open woodland with good, medium-density cover in undergrowth. Where to look? How to find this species? Following their very elaborate calls, one will usually find Speckled Warblers foraging on low branches, in undergrowth or on the ground. If one is fortunate, they may come to check out the observer, likely while issuing rasping warning calls.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Speckled Warblers are quite a rare sight 20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, and it took us a while to identify them. First seen there, with identification, in August 2006, then again in October 2006. In April 2007 a pair of Speckled Warblers came onto the lawn of our place at Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri. A pair of Speckled Warblers stayed in dense scrub throughout the winter months and spring of 2007, nesting very early at the end of winter and raising their chicks there. Once the offspring had fledged, they all disappeared. They were seen occasionally in the following years, but since our paddock has been slashed (and subsequently kept short) and undergrowth has been pruned, Speckled Warblers have all but disappeared. Only in April 2013 a group of 4 birds was seen again for a short period of time, in the wildest part of the property. Speckled Warblers can be seen regularly in Deriah Aboriginal Area, 30 km East of Narrabri, and Mt. Kaputar NP, where we have found them reliably in the years since 2007. They were also found by us at Porcupine Reserve, Gunnedah, NSW, in December 2008 and again in August 2011. In September 2011 a pair of Speckled Warblers was spotted by us on the edge of Leard State Forest, near Maules Creek, NSW. They are observed by us regularly on the western fringe of Mt. Kaputar NP, some 40-50 km East of Narrabri. R. Plumtree reports spotting Speckled Warblers occasionally in the area of Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC. They were also found in the Melville Cave area in Inglewood SF, VIC, in September 2018. J. Wilson reports finding Speckled Warblers nesting in the Pilliga West Forest, 45 km NW of Baradine, NSW, in September 2015. A. Campbell reports spotting Speckled Warblers at Mount McEuen, QLD, in October 2016. M. Eaton reports finding Speckled Warblers at Gold Scrub Lane, Lake Samsonvale, QLD, in November 2020.

Photos

ADULT

PAIR

Many bird species exhibit sexual dimorphism, i.e., male and female have differing appearances which can be quite subtle.
Note the supercilia (eyebrows) of Speckled Warblers - the male's, on the left, is black; the female's is rufous.

MALE

Close-up near-frontal view of a male Speckled Warbler looking sideways; note the black supercilium
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2017]

Near-lateral view of a male Speckled Warbler
[Near Narrabri, NSW, September 2010]

Near-lateral view of a male Speckled Warbler looking away from the observer
[Near Narrabri, NSW, September 2010]

Lateral view of a male Speckled Warbler issuing its call
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2026]

Lateral/ventral view of a male Speckled Warbler
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2025]

Dorsal view of a male Speckled Warbler (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Near Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, May 2014]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Speckled Warbler foraging on the ground - note the brown supercilium
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2017]

Near-frontal view of a female Speckled Warbler
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2007]

Near-frontal view of a female Speckled Warbler (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Scrub Lane, Lake Samsonvale, QLD, November 2020]

Near-frontal view of a female Speckled Warbler (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Scrub Lane, Lake Samsonvale, QLD, November 2020]

Near-lateral view from above of a female Speckled Warbler
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2017]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a female Speckled Warbler
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2007]

Lateral view of a female Speckled Warbler
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2017]

Lateral view of a female Speckled Warbler (photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, August 2017]

Lateral/ventral view of a female Speckled Warbler looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Scrub Lane, Lake Samsonvale, QLD, November 2020]

Dorsal view of a female Speckled Warbler
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2017]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Frontal view of a fledgling Speckled Warbler
[Bullawa Creek SCA, NSW, September 2010]

Near-frontal view of a fledgling Speckled Warbler showing clearly the downy feathers yet to be shed
[Bullawa Creek SCA, NSW, September 2010]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a fledgling Speckled Warbler
[Bullawa Creek SCA, NSW, September 2010]

Lateral/ventral view of a fledgling Speckled Warbler
[Bullawa Creek SCA, NSW, September 2010]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Sep - Jan

Eggs: 3 - 4

Incubation period: ?

Fledging age: ?

Most field guides list starting dates for the Speckled Warbler's breeding season of August to September, which is in line with many other species. Our experience, however, is that Speckled Warblers are amongst the very first breeders of the year, i.e. if they breed in August it can still be freezing cold. We assume that, as insect eaters, they find enough food in wintertime to start breeding early in order to beat any migratory small cuckoos to it. The fledgling bird shown on this page was seen on the day in early September 2010 when the first migratory birds that leave Australia during the southern winter arrived in the Narrabri area.

Nest

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

Type: Dome

Material: Grass, bark strips

Height above ground: N/A

The nests of Speckled Warblers are at ground level, at the base of plants or in small hollows.

Speckled Warbler nest hidden in litter at the base of a tree (photo courtesy of J. Wilson)
[Pilliga West Forest, NW of Baradine, NSW, September 2015]

When seen from a different angle, a Speckled Warbler nest is almost invisible (photo courtesy of J. Wilson)
[Pilliga West Forest, NW of Baradine, NSW, September 2015]

Speckled Warbler nest in a heap of garden rubbish that was supposed to be removed, but then wasn't...
(photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, August 2017]

Speckled Warbler nest at the base of an old stump; again the entrance is almost invisible (photo courtesy of D. Johnston)
[Coonabarabran/Coonamble/Gulargambone area, NSW, 1986]

Speckled Warbler nest with "avant garde" roof design
[Killarney SCA, NSW, July 2019]

Entrance to a Speckled Warbler nest under an abandoned old car door
[Killarney SCA, NSW, July 2019]

Speckled Warbler entering the nest with new material
[Killarney SCA, NSW, July 2019]

Male Speckled Warbler carrying nest material
[Killarney SCA, NSW, July 2019]

Female Speckled Warbler carrying nest material
[Killarney SCA, NSW, July 2019]

Near-frontal view of a male Speckled Warbler carrying nest material (photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, August 2017]

Near-lateral view of a male Speckled Warbler collecting nest material
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2007]

Lateral view of a female Speckled Warbler carrying nest material (photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, August 2017]

Eggs

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

Size: 19 x 16 mm

Colour: Chocolate brown

Shape: Tapered oval

Speckled Warbler egg temporarily displayed outside the nest (photo courtesy of D. Johnston)
[Coonabarabran/Coonamble/Gulargambone area, NSW, 1986]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Pair

Speckled Warblers are often seen by us together with other small birds, in particular various kinds of thornbills found in the region.

Male Speckled Warbler foraging on the ground; they usually stay in dimly lit areas, avoiding direct sunlight
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, July 2013]

Lateral view of a female Speckled Warbler foraging out in the open, but in a partly shady area
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2007]

Unusual sight: Speckled Warbler foraging out in the open and in bright sunshine, without any shade or cover, relying entirely on its cryptic plumage as camouflage - spot the bird...!
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, May 2016]

Lateral view of a pair of Speckled Warblers - in cases of a territorial dispute or an alarm, male Speckled Warblers (left) can display their crest
[Bullawa Creek SCA, NSW, August 2017]

Food, Diet

Speckled Warblers hunt for small insects and caterpillars on the ground and in the understory of woodland.

Near-frontal view of a female Speckled Warbler bringing food for its brood, in this case juicy caterpillars
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2022]

Close-up lateral view of a female Speckled Warbler foraging in leaf litter
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, April 2026]

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.

spkwarb_20250403.m4a	(NW NSW)	Territorial call (male)	© MD
spkwarb_20190519_2.m4a	(NW NSW)	Territorial call	© MD
spkwarb_20200815.m4a	(NW NSW)	Territorial call	© MD
spkwarb_20190519.m4a	(NW NSW)	Territorial call	© MD
spkwarb_20140612.m4a	(NW NSW)	(Shortened?) territorial call	© MD
spkwarb_20170430_2.mp3	(NW NSW)	Warning calls	© MD
spkwarb_20190912.m4a	(NW NSW)	Various	© MD

More Speckled Warbler 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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