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Together with the Chirruping Wedgebill, Chiming Wedgebills are the smallest members of the genus Psophodes (whipbirds and wedgebills). Their plumage is light greyish-brown throughout, with a light throat patch, a slightly striated front and a somewhat darker back. Also the small crest is light grey-brown. They have thin, inconspicuous, grey eye stripes. The tail is dark grey-brown, with white-tipped sides. The eyes have dark irises. The short, stout bill is black. The legs and feet are dark-grey. Juveniles have a horn-coloured bill and a lighter front than adults.

Twitcher's tip

Except for their calls, Chirruping Wedgebills and Chiming Wedgebills are indistinguishable in the field. However, the ranges of the two species do not overlap.

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 Chiming Wedgebill 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.

Chiming Wedgebills are endemic to Australia. They populate basically the subtropical central-latitude third of WA, from the western coastlina of the Gascoyne and the Pilbara as far South as Geraldton westward into the southern NT (to the NT/QLD border) and into north-eastern SA (eastward to about Coober Pedy). They are NOT found in the Lake Eyre Basin.

Chiming Wedgebills have a preference for dense scrub in arid regions, dominated by acacia, melaleuca or tea tree.

Where to look? How to find this species?

To find Chiming Wedgebills, one needs to look for (often prickly) shrubs in otherwise open country. A few small stands of just a few plants will often suffice to attract a mob of Chiming Wedgebills.

J. Greaves reports spotting a Chiming Wedgebill at Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, in August 2016.

M. Eaton found Chiming Wedgebills at Marla, SA, in October 2022, and at Erldunda, NT, in June 2025.