The black-throated whipbird (''Psophodes nigrogularis'') is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations in

Southwest Australia Southwest Australia is a biogeographic region in Western Australia. It includes the Mediterranean-climate area of southwestern Australia, which is home to a diverse and distinctive flora and fauna. The region is also known as the Southwest Aus ...

. It is predominantly olive green in colour. It was formerly considered to be

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organ ...

with the

white-bellied whipbird The white-bellied whipbird (''Psophodes leucogaster''), also called the Mallee whipbird, is a species of bird in the family Psophodidae. It is endemic to southern Australia. Taxonomy The species was formerly considered as a subspecies of ''Psop ...

(''Psophodes leucogaster''), so shares the common name "

western whipbird Western whipbird may refer to the following bird species and subspecies: * '' Psophodes nigrogularis'', the black-throated whipbird ** subspecies: '' Psophodes nigrogularis nigrogularis'', 'western heath' ** subspecies: '' Psophodes nigrogularis ob ...

Taxonomy

The black-throated whipbird was described by the English ornithologist

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

in 1844 and given its current

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...

''Psophodes nigrogularis''. Two subspecies are recognised. Both are under threat to some degree. *''Psophodes nigrogularis nigrogularis'': (Endangered) The Western heath subspecies is now restricted to a small patch east of Albany, having disappeared from large parts of its range due to land clearance.Garnett. p158 *''P. n. oberon'': (Rare) The Western mallee subspecies is found in scattered populations between the Stirling Ranges and Ravensthorpe. It is apparently common in the

Fitzgerald River National Park Fitzgerald River National Park is a national park in the Shires of Ravensthorpe and the Jerramungup in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is recognised on Australia's National Heritage List for its outstanding diversity of native ...

.Garnett. p159 The

(''Psophodes leucogaster'') was formerly treated as conspecific with the black-throated whipbird. It was promoted to species status based on an analysis of

mitochondrial DNA Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...

sequences published in 2017. The ''

Clements Checklist ''The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World'' is a book by Jim Clements which presents a list of the bird species of the world. The most recent printed version is the sixth edition (2007), but has been updated yearly, the last version in 2022 ...

'' refers to this species with the common name western whipbird (black-throated) to distinguish it from ''P. leucogaster'' (white-bellied).

Description

The black-throated whipbird is slim bird some in length. It is predominantly olive green with a black throat and a narrow white cheek-patch edged with black on its face. It has a small crest and a long dark olive-green tail tipped with white, its underparts are a paler olive colour. The bill is black with blackish feet. Juveniles are a duller olive-brown in colour and lack the white cheek stripes and dark throat. Breeding occurs in spring; a bowl of twigs and sticks lined with softer material such as grasses, located in shrubs or trees less than above the ground. A clutch of two eggs, pale blue with blackish splotches and spots, measuring .

References

Sources

* Garnett, S. (1993) ''Threatened and Extinct Birds Of Australia''. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. National Library, Canberra. {{Taxonbar, from=Q1922967

black-throated whipbird The black-throated whipbird (''Psophodes nigrogularis'') is a passerine bird found in several scattered populations in Southwest Australia. It is predominantly olive green in colour. It was formerly considered to be conspecific with the white-be ...

Endemic birds of Southwest Australia Vulnerable fauna of Australia