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20

Gilbert's Whistler (Pachycephala inornata) Alternate name(s): "Black-lored Whistler", "Red-throated Whistler", "Gilbert's Thickhead", "Gilbert Whistler" Size: 19-20 cm Weight: 26-38 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 Gilbert's Whistlers are large whistlers. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Male Gilbert's Whistlers have a large orange-brown throat patch. The rest of the front, sides and flanks is mostly grey, with some pale orange-brown tint down the centre of the belly towards vent and undertail coverts. The head and back are brownish-grey, the tail is grey. The wing feathers are dark-grey, with lighter grey edge lining. Female Gilbert's Whistlers have a light-grey throat patch and a grey front. Their ear coverts are also grey. Their back is lighter grey than the males'. Both sexes have eyes with red-brown irises. The bill is black; legs and feet are dark-grey. Juveniles have more rufous-brown tints than adults.

Taxonomy, classification See Gilbert's Whistler 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 Gilbert's Whistler is available HERE . Gilbert's Whistlers are endemic to the southern part of the Australian continent. They occur in an isolated area of about 200 km around Cobar, central western NSW, in the lower Murray-Darling Basin, along the NSW/VIC border to about Yarrawonga in the East, along the coastline of the Great Australian Bight (but not Eyre peninsula in SA), around (but not in) the Nullarbor and on into southern WA. In WA they are not found on the south-western tip of the continent, but an area stretching from the WA/SA coastal border westward (the Wheat Belt), encompassing Kalgoorlie, WA, and towards the West coast of WA to the North of Perth. Although there are no races, the birds outside the Murray-Darling catchment, West of roughly the NSW/VIC border, tend to be darker than their eastern cousins. Gilbert's Whistlers have a preference for mallee-type woodland and scrub.

Sightings Click here for sighting information R. Brinsley reports spotting Gilbert's Whistlers 85 km West of Wentworth, NSW, regularly, e.g. in October 2010 and again in November 2019. R. Plumtree reports finding Gilbert's Whistlers at Mount Korong, VIC, in November 2018. M. Eaton spotted a Gilbert's Whistler at Lake Gilles, SA, in June 2023.

Photos

ADULT

MALE

Close-up frontal view of a male Gilbert's Whistler (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Gilles, SA, June 2023]

Frontal view of a male Gilbert's Whistler (photo courtesy of R. Brinsley)
[85 km west of Wentworth, NSW, October 2010]

Close-up near-frontal/ventral view of a male Gilbert's Whistler (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Gilles, SA, June 2023]

Close-up near-lateral/ventral view of a male Gilbert's Whistler issuing its call (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Gilles, SA, June 2023]

Close-up near-lateral/ventral view of a male Gilbert's Whistler (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Gilles, SA, June 2023]

Close-up lateral view of a male Gilbert's Whistler issuing its call (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Gilles, SA, June 2023]

Lateral view of a male Gilbert's Whistler (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Mount Korong, VIC, November 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a male Gilbert's Whistler (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Mount Korong, VIC, November 2018]

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.

gilwhis_me_20230620.mp3	(S SA)	Contact calls?	© ME
gilwhis_rb_20181120.m4a	(SW NSW)	Territorial calls (male) + Red-capped Robin	© RB
gilwhis_rb_20181120_2.m4a	(SW NSW)	Contact call?	© RB

More Gilbert's Whistler 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, 10 July 2023, 22:22 +00:00