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20

Chirruping Wedgebill (Psophodes cristatus) Size: 19-21 cm Weight: 34-44 g

Australia: Family Group 20 Family Group 20 Table Eastern Whipbird Chirruping Wedgebill Chiming Wedgebill Spotted Quail-thrush Cinnamon Quail-thrush Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush Varied Sittella Crested Bellbird Eastern (Crested) Shrike-tit Northern (Crested) Shrike-tit Grey Whistler Olive Whistler Golden Whistler Western Whistler Mangrove Golden Whistler White-breasted Whistler Rufous Whistler Gilbert's Whistler Little Shrike-thrush Bower's Shrike-thrush Sandstone Shrike-thrush Grey Shrike-thrush 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 Together with the Chiming Wedgebill, Chirruping 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.

Taxonomy, classification See Chirruping Wedgebill at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Chirruping 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. Chirruping Wedgebills are endemic to Australia. They live in the interior of the Australian continent, in the border region of the NT with QLD, NSW and SA, i.e. around the Strezlecki and Simpson Deserts. The eastern boundary of their range is the Paroo River, with Broken Hill, NSW, as the south-eastern limit. The southern limit is near Port Augusta, SA, and Lake Eyre on the western side. Towards the South-West and North-West their range extends further than Lake Eyre, to about Coober Pedy, SA, and Ghan, NT, respectively. Chirruping Wedgebills are usually found in low, e.g. acacia-dominated, scrub or open savannah.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Chirruping Wedgebills were first spotted by us in March 2008, just South of Broken Hill, in the far West of NSW, in open shrubland. A Chirruping Wedgebill was next seen by us again in outback NSW in September 2012, e.g. in a dry gully about 100 km East of Tibooburra. R. Plumtree reports finding Chirruping Wedgebills along the Strzelecki track, SA, in October 2016. A pair of Chirruping Wedgebills was found by M. Eaton and ourselves ca. 20 km westward of Cunnamulla, QLD, in June 2019. M. Eaton reports finding Chirruping Wedgebills at Thargomindah, QLD, in June 2020.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Chirruping Wedgebill (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Strzelecki track, SA, October 2016]

Frontal view of a Chirruping Wedgebill
[100 km East of Tibooburra, NSW, September 2012]

Near-lateral view of a Chirruping Wedgebill (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Thargomindah, QLD, June 2020]

Near-lateral view of a Chirruping Wedgebill; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 19 June 2019
[20 km West of Cunnamulla, QLD, June 2019]

Lateral view of a Chirruping Wedgebill
[100 km East of Tibooburra, NSW, September 2012]

Frontal view of a Chirruping Wedgebill foraging on the ground
[Near Broken Hill, NSW, March 2008]

Lateral view of a Chirruping Wedgebill foraging on the ground
[Near Broken Hill, NSW, March 2008]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial?

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Family clan

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.

chwbill_20190619.m4a

(SW QLD)

Contact calls (+ Masked Woodswallows)

© MD

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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