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Sahul Cicadabird (Edolisoma tenuirostre) Alternate name(s): "Cicadabird", "Slender-billed Cicadabird", "Jardine Caterpillar-eater", "Caterpillar-catcher", "Jardine Triller" Size: 24-26 cm Body mass: 60-75 g

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Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Sahul Cicadabirds are the smallest Australian cuckoo-shrikes. The Sahul Cicadabird is the only Australian cuckoo-shrike with a dimorphic plumage, i.e. males and females are different. Male Sahul Cicadabirds are dark-grey throughout, with a black eye stripe and near-black tail and flight feathers with dark-grey edge lining. Apart from an off-white throat patch, female Sahul Cicadabirds have a light-brown front with thin darker-brown barring from the upper chest to the lower belly. They have dark-brown eye stripes, lighter brown eyebrows and light-and-dark brown striated ear coverts. The frons, crown and back, from the nape of the neck to the tail, are all greyish-brown. The flight feathers are dark-brown, with lighter brown edge lining. The eyes of both sexes have black irises. The thin, slightly down-curved bill, the legs and feet are all dark-grey. Juveniles resemble females, but are more heavily barred. Twitcher's tip Although for a long time considered to be a member of the genus Coracina, the Sahul Cicadabird's dimorphism and also the morphology of the females' plumage are in fact more similar to those of both members of the Lalage family, i.e., White-winged Trillers and Varied Trillers.

Taxonomy, classification See Sahul Cicadabird at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information What used to be known as the Common Cicadabird (Coracina tenuirostris), has now, based on DNA evidence, been split into 7 different species that were placed in genus Edolisoma.

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 Sahul Cicadabird is available HERE . There are six races of Sahul Cicadabirds. Altogether their range spans across New Guinea and surrounding islands, extending southwards to Australia. In Australia two races of Sahul Cicadabirds are found. Nominate race "tenuirostre" breeds only in Australia. It occurs along the East coast, from South of Cape Melville, QLD, to about the NSW/VIC border, and along the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range. Occasionally they extend their range farther inland, up to the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range (including, e.g., Warrumbungle NP and the Pilliga scrub). Along the (near-)coastal fringe of tropical North Australia, from Cape Melville, QLD, throughout the northern part of Cape York peninsula, the Top End of the NT and the Kimberley in WA, endemic race "melvillensis" is found. Sahul Cicadabirds prefer forests and woodlands, but will also be found in mangrove and paperbark swamps. Where to look? How to find this species? The Sahul Cicadabird is a prime example of a bird species for which it helps to know their calls in order to find them. We have so far not spotted a Sahul Cicadabird yet without following their renditions of cicada tymbal clicks. Their appearance and behaviour are so unobtrusive, at times cryptic that visual acquisition in tree canopy without hearing them first is very difficult.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "tenuirostre" A male Sahul Cicadabird, race "tenuirostre", was spotted by C. Hayne at Ballina, NSW, in December 2012. B. Hensen reports spotting Sahul Cicadabirds, race "tenuirostre", at St. Albans, NSW, in December 2012 and again in March 2018. A Sahul Cicadabird, race "tenuirostre", was heard calling by us at Upper Bullawa Creek, Mt. Kaputar NP, in October 2013. We thank B. Hensen for identifying the bird's call. A Sahul Cicadabird was found at the same location again in January 2018. In December 2013 a pair was observed at Deriah Aboriginal Area. Several Sahul Cicadabirds, race "tenuirostre", were observed in Leard State Forest, near Maules Creek, NSW, in November 2014. In subsequent years, the species has been heard by us semi-regularly during the breeding seasons, but not seen. E. Scott reports spotting a Sahul Cicadabird, race "tenuirostre", at Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, in December 2016. B. Hensen reports finding a Sahul Cicadabird, race "tenuirostre", at St. Albans, NSW, in February 2014. M. Eaton spotted a Sahul Cicadabird, race "tenuirostre", at Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, in November 2018, and another at the same location in December 2019. Race "melvillensis" B. Hensen reports spotting a female Sahul Cicadabird, race "melvillensis", in Darwin, NT, in August 2013.

Photos

Race "tenuirostre"

ADULT

MALE

Near-lateral/ventral view of a male Sahul 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 Sahul Cicadabird (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, December 2016]

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

Lateral view of a male Sahul Cicadabird, more upright stance
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2013]

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

Dorsal view of a male Sahul Cicadabird
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2013]

FEMALE

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

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

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

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

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

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

Race "melvillensis"

ADULT

FEMALE

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

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary

Part of the population of Sahul Cicadabirds in Australia migrates southward along the eastern coastal fringe, while the rest is sedentary in the tropical North.

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

Male Sahul 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, Sahul Cicadabirds have a preference for Cicadas, caterpillars and other relatively large insects.

Male Sahul 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_20251025.m4a	tenuirostre (NW NSW)	Cicada call (long)	© 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
cicada_20241109.m4a	tenuirostre (NW NSW)	Cicada calls (long sequence)	© MD

For comparison, here a few examples of tymbal clicks by male cicadas 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 Sahul 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.