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Cinnamon Quail-thrush (Cinclosoma cinnamomeum) Alternate name(s): "Cinnamon Ground-bird", "Cinnamon Ground-thrush"; Note: Includes "Nullarbor Quail-thrush" (formerly called "Black-breasted Ground-bird") Aboriginal name(s): "melga" Size: 17-24 cm Body mass: up to 50 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 Rufous Shrike-thrush Arafura Shrike-thrush (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 Cinnamon Quail-thrushes are secretive thrush-sized bushland birds. Their highly cryptic plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Both sexes have a white belly, vent and undertail coverts. Also the brownish-grey cap, buff supercilia, brownish-grey ear coverts pale-grey nape of the neck and cinnamon back, rump and uppertail are similar. The differences lie in the front, flanks and wing coverts. Male Cinnamon Quail-thrushes have a black stripe down the otherwise white front from chin to throat and a separate horizontal black breast band that connects to black streaks running down the flanks. Chest and flanks are otherwise cinnamon-coloured. They have prominent black and white wing bars. Females have an off-white throat bordered by broad buff moustachial stripes above a pale-grey chest that connects to the pale-grey neck. Their wing bars are much more subdued, with only a few white spots on otherwise pale-cinnamon background. The irises of both sexes are dark-brown. The slightly down-curved bill is black; the legs and feet are also black. The upperparts of juveniles resemble female Cinnamon Quail-thrushes, while their underparts are buff, with darker vermiculation.

Taxonomy, classification See Cinnamon Quail-thrush 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 Cinnamon Quail-thrush 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. Cinnamon Quail-thrushes are endemic to Australia. There are two extant races, both of which reside in the Red Centre of the continent. The range of nominate race "cinnamomeum" extends from the base of Eyre Peninsula, SA, north-westward and north-eastward, covering about half of SA, except the north-eastern corner, far-western NSW northward of the Darling River, far-western QLD along the North-South border with SA, and the southern central NT, southward of Alice Springs. Race "tiariensis" is found at Lake Eyre, SA, and in a sector ranging northwards from a line connecting the southern end of the lake with Cameron Corner, QLD, eastward of a line connecting Lake Eyre with Alice Springs, NT, to the SA/QLD border in the East, continuing into the south-western corner of QLD, along the East-West border with SA. Their range ends near Alice Springs, SA, Boulia, QLD, and Longreach, QLD. Cinnamon Quail-thrushes are found exclusively in arid habitats dominated by saltbush or bluebush shrubs. They are also present on gibber plains and arid tablelands of the Lake Eyre Basin.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "tiariensis" R. Brinsley reports finding Cinnamon Quail-thrushes, race "tiariensis", at Lake Eyre NP, SA, in April 2019. M. Eaton spotted Cinnamon Quail-thrushes, race "tiariensis", at Waddy Acacia, near Birdsville, QLD, in July 2021 and again in July 2026. Others were found along the Birdsville Track in August 2022. In June 2022, M. Eaton found Cinnamon Quail-thrushes, race "tiariensis", at the Lake Eyre South Lookout, 50 km W of Marree, SA. Another was found along the Strzelecki Track, ca. 140 km N of Lyndhurst, SA.

Photos

Race "tiariensis"

ADULT

PAIR

Near-dorsal view of a pair of Cinnamon Quail-thrushes, male at far right (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Track, SA, August 2022]

Near-lateral view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush, with a female in the background (photo courtesy of R. Brinsley)
[Lake Eyre NP, SA, April 2019]

Frontal view of a pair of Cinnamon Quail-thrushes - female on the left, male on the right (photo courtesy of R. Brinsley)
[Lake Eyre NP, SA, April 2019]

MALE

Frontal view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Near-frontal view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Near-lateral view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Near-lateral view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Lateral view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Close-up lateral view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Eyre South Lookout, 50 km W of Marree, SA, June 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Track, SA, August 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush looking away from the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Eyre South Lookout, 50 km W of Marree, SA, June 2022]

FEMALE

Near-lateral view of a female Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Lateral view of a foraging female Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Birdsville Track, 140 km N of Lyndhurst, SA, June 2022]

Lateral view of a female Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Dorsal view of a female Cinnamon Quail-thrush looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Dorsal view of a female Cinnamon Quail-thrush (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Birdsville, QLD, July 2021]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Covey/family clan

Cinnamon Quail-thrushes are communal, living in family clans. However, each clan as an entity/ensemble is territorial.

Lateral view of a male Cinnamon Quail-thrush on gibber (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Waddy Acacia, near Birdsville, QLD, July 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.

cinqthr_me_20220918.mp3	tiariensis (NE SA)	Territorial calls (male)?	© ME
cinqthr_me_20220918_2.mp3	tiariensis (NE SA)	Pair Q&A	© ME

More Cinnamon Quail-thrush 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.