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22

Common Cicadabird

(Edolisoma [Coracina] tenuirostre)
Alternate name(s): "Cicadabird", "Slender-billed Cicadabird", "Jardine Caterpillar-eater", "Caterpillar-catcher", "Jardine Triller"
Size: 24-26 cm
Weight: 60-75 g
Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Common Cicadabird at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "tenuirostre"

ADULT

MALE

Near-lateral/ventral view of a male Common Cicadabird; mellow early morning light gives it a brownish hue
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, December 2019]

Lateral view of a male Common Cicadabird (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, December 2016]

Lateral view of a male Common Cicadabird
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2013]

Lateral view of a male Common Cicadabird, different posture
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2013]

Dorsal view of a male Common Cicadabird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, February 2014]

Dorsal view of a male Common Cicadabird, different posture
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2013]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Common Cicadabird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, November 2018]

Frontal view of a female Common Cicadabird looking sideways (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, November 2018]

Lateral view of a female Common Cicadabird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[D'Aguilar NP, near Brisbane, QLD, January 2023]

Lateral view of a female Common Cicadabird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, November 2018]

Lateral view of a female Common Cicadabird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, December 2012]

Lateral view of a female Common Cicadabird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, November 2018]

Race "melvillensis"

ADULT

FEMALE

Near-dorsal view of a female Common Cicadabird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin, NT, August 2013]

Behaviour

Mimicking cicada calls, Common Cicadabirds wait for a response. If they get one, they will pounce on their prey.

Male Common Cicadabird observed by us calling by mimicking a cicada (upper left) and then checking for any response; the bird mimicked both the long-drawn rattle of a cicada and the short burst that can be heard during take-off
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2013]

Food, Diet

As their names already suggest, Common Cicadabirds have a preference for Cicadas, caterpillars and other relatively large insects.

Male Common Cicadabird with its prey, a caterpillar (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, February 2014]

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.

cicada_20140124.mp3 tenuirostre
(NW NSW)
Contact calls © MD
cicada_20191127.m4a tenuirostre
(NW NSW)
Cicada call (long) © MD
cicada_20190101_2.m4a tenuirostre
(NW NSW)
Cicada call (medium) © MD
cicada_20190101_3.m4a tenuirostre
(NW NSW)
Cicada call (short) © MD
cicada_20171209.m4a tenuirostre
(NW NSW)
Cicada call © MD
cicada_20180131.m4a tenuirostre
(NW NSW)
Cicada call (distant) © MD

For comparison, here a few examples of male cicadas' tymbal clicks that these calls are mimicking (there are 200 species of cicadas in Australia, with various sound patterns).

cicada_20191203.m4a (NW NSW) © MD
cicada_20181226.m4a (NW NSW) © MD

More Common Cicadabird 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.