The shy heathwren (''Hylacola cauta'') is a species of small

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family

Acanthizidae The Acanthizidae—known as Australian warblers—are a family of passerine birds which includes gerygones, the thornbills ''Acanthiza'', and the scrubwrens of ''Sericornis''. The Acanthizidae family consists of small to medium passerine birds, ...

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Australia. They inhabit mostly mallee woodland that has relatively dense shrub and

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler a ...

understorey.

Taxonomy

Their taxonomic name was formerly ''Calamanthus cautus''—classing them as fieldwrens—until they were renamed in 2008. The generic name ''Hylacola'' derives from the Greek ''hylē'' 'woodland' and the Latin ''-cola'' 'dweller'. The specific epithet derives from the Latin ''cautus'' 'shy, wary'. Common names for the species include shy hylacola and mallee heathwren. Four subspecies have been recognised: the nominate subspecies ''Hylacola cauta cauta'' in South Australia and Victoria; ''H. c. macrorhynchus'' in New South Wales; ''H. c. halmaturina'' on

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island, also known as Karta Pintingga (literally 'Island of the Dead' in the language of the Kaurna people), is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest ...

; and ''H. c. whitlocki'' in Western Australia.Morcombe, Michael (2012) ''Field Guide to Australian Birds''. Pascal Press, Glebe, NSW. Revised edition. Gregory, P. (2020). "Shy Heathwren (Hylacola cauta), version 1.0." In ''Birds of the World'' (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.shyhea1.01

Description

The birds are cock-tailed with a chestnut rump that darkens towards the tip. Their feathers are white with brown streaking underneath and greyish-brown on the back and crown. They have a white eyebrow, tail tip and patch on the flight feathers, and a black

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. Their eyes are brown to yellowish-brown and legs are slate-brown. Females have slightly duller colouring, and immature birds are duller again with some of these being fawn-coloured underneath. They have a total length when adults of .

Distribution and threats

They are uncommon residents across a wide part of southern Australia. Ranging from near

West Wyalong West Wyalong is the main town of the Bland Shire in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia. Located west of Sydney and above sea level, it is situated on the crossroads of the Newell Highway between Melbourne and Brisbane, and th ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

to the Murchison River in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. In New South Wales, they are found in two isolated populations: one between Leeton, Willandra National Park, Nymagee and West Wyalong; and the other from

Balranald Balranald is a town within the local government area of Balranald Shire, in the Riverina district of New South Wales, Australia. The town of Balranald is located where the Sturt Highway crosses the Murrumbidgee River in a remote, semi-deser ...

to Trentham Cliffs. Within the state they are seen as a

threatened Threatened species are any species (including animals, plants and fungi) which are vulnerable to endangerment in the near future. Species that are threatened are sometimes characterised by the population dynamics measure of ''critical depensa ...

and vulnerable, largely due to human-wrought

habitat loss Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and

predation Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...

by foxes and cats.

Behaviour

Diet

Shy heathwrens feed mostly on ground-dwelling insects, and rarely on seeds.

Nesting

Their ground-level nests are dome-shaped and usually concealed within grass tussocks or shrubs. They typically lay 2 or 3 freckled and pinkish eggs.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27075267 shy heathwren Birds of Western Australia Birds of South Australia Birds of New South Wales Birds of Victoria (Australia) Endemic birds of Australia shy heathwren Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN