Tasmanian thornbill
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Tasmanian thornbill (''Acanthiza ewingii'') is a small bushland member of the Acanthizidae (Australian warbler) family, endemic to
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
and the
Bass Strait Islands Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterway ...
. It is a common bird in these regions and is often found occupying the colder, wetter portions of them. The
brown thornbill The brown thornbill (''Acanthiza pusilla'') is a passerine bird usually found in eastern and south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It can grow up to long, and feeds on insects. It is brown, grey and white. The species has five subspeci ...
(''Acanthiza pusilla'') will typically occupy the correspondingly drier portions of habitat."The Endemic Birds of Tasmania." Thomas, D.G. 1972. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 8 December 2006. Accessed: 18 July 2007. URL

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Description

The Tasmanian thornbill is olive-brown above, darkening toward the back and tail, and can exhibit a patch of reddish-brown colouration on the forehead. The wings are dark grey with olive-brown edge lining. Grey on light grey scalloping is present from the chin to breast, with similar scalloping occurring on the sides of the head. The bill, feet, and legs are all dark grey and the eyes are distinctly large and dark, with red irises. It's long, thin, thorn-shaped beak is a distinguishing characteristic of the ''
Acanthiza ''Acanthiza'' is a genus of passeriform birds, most endemic to Australia, but with two species (''A. murina'' and ''A. cinerea'') restricted to New Guinea. These birds are commonly known as thornbills. They are not closely related to species i ...
'' (thornbill) family. Visibly fluffy, white under-tail coverts are a distinguishing feature of the species. The Tasmanian thornbill averages in size at around 10cm and shows no significant coloration or size differentiation between sexes."Tasmanian Thornbill." Tasmania Parks & Wildlife Service. 22 June 2007. Accessed: 18 July 2007. URL

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Differentiating from brown thornbill

The Tasmanian and brown thornbills both occupy similar habitat, and are strikingly similar in appearance and behaviour, hence they are often easily confused. There are five principal, physical, differences to distinguish between the two species: # The under-tail coverts of the Tasmanian thornbill are clear white, while those of the brown thornbill, brown thornbill are a duller greyish brown, hence the adage that the Tasmanian thornbill "wears white underpants". # The edges of the primary feathers in the wing of the Tasmanian thornbill contrast the wings at the edges much more than those of the
brown thornbill The brown thornbill (''Acanthiza pusilla'') is a passerine bird usually found in eastern and south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It can grow up to long, and feeds on insects. It is brown, grey and white. The species has five subspeci ...
. # The Tasmanian thornbill has a longer tail. # The chin, throat, and breast of the Tasmanian thornbill are greyer. # The forehead of the Tasmanian thornbill shows little of the scalloping evident in that of the
brown thornbill The brown thornbill (''Acanthiza pusilla'') is a passerine bird usually found in eastern and south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It can grow up to long, and feeds on insects. It is brown, grey and white. The species has five subspeci ...
.


Habitat and distribution

The Tasmanian thornbill is endemic to
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
and the
Bass Strait Islands Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterway ...
and is a common resident of
rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...
, wet forests, and
scrublands Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It ma ...
. It shares much of its range with the
brown thornbill The brown thornbill (''Acanthiza pusilla'') is a passerine bird usually found in eastern and south-eastern Australia, including Tasmania. It can grow up to long, and feeds on insects. It is brown, grey and white. The species has five subspeci ...
, but tends to occupy the wetter areas of the habitat, often choosing to live in dense scrub around wet gullies rather than the drier, more open slopes.
Temperate rainforest Temperate rainforests are coniferous or broadleaf forests that occur in the temperate zone and receive heavy rain. Temperate rain forests occur in oceanic moist regions around the world: the Pacific temperate rain forests of North American Paci ...
has been established to be the preferred habitat of the Tasmanian thornbill, but its range of suitable habitats also include Mediterranean-style shrubby vegetation,
bogs A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main Wetland#Types, types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, ...
, marshes, fens,
swamps A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...
,
peatlands A mire, peatland, or quagmire is a wetland area dominated by living peat-forming plants. Mires arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, due to water-logging and subsequent anoxia. All types ...
, and shrub-dominated
wetlands A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
. The subspecies ''A. e. rufifrons'' (King Island Tasmanian thornbill) occupies similar habitat but on
King Island King Island, Kings Island or King's Island may refer to: Australia * King Island (Queensland) * King Island, at Wellington Point, Queensland * King Island (Tasmania) ** King Island Council, the local government area that contains the Tasmanian is ...
and is endemic there.


Behaviour


Feeding

The Tasmanian thornbill is primarily
insectivorous A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant that eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores were ...
, but will sometimes include seeds and fruits into its diet. It is typically arboreal, and will forage at all levels of the forest including the ground, leaves, and the bark of trunks, branches, and twigs.


Breeding

Tasmanian thornbills typically breed from September to January, and will build a small, neatly rounded, domed nest in low, dense vegetation. The nest itself is constructed of grass, green mosses, and fine strips of bark, and is enclosed at the entrance by a hinged flap. Within the nest, the thornbill will lay 3 or 4 eggs; however, neither the exact period of incubation of these eggs, nor the period from hatching to independence are known. The eggs themselves can range from off-white, with large brown freckles – concentrated toward the base of the egg, to a brown/bronze colour with smaller dotted dark brown/black freckles – again concentrated towards the base.


Vocalisation

The Tasmanian thornbill has the warbling style of call that is characteristically attributed to the '' Acanthizidae'' (Australian warbler) family, and its main call has been described phonetically as a ''zit zit zit'' sound.


Conservation

The Tasmanian thornbill is common and widespread throughout
Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...
and the
Bass Strait Islands Bass Strait () is a strait separating the island state of Tasmania from the Australian mainland (more specifically the coast of Victoria, with the exception of the land border across Boundary Islet). The strait provides the most direct waterway ...
, and has been classified by
Birdlife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
as a secure species of
least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...
on the ICUN Red List of Threatened Species. However, due to ongoing habitat destruction and heavy pesticide use, its population is suspected to be in decline.


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q481672 Acanthiza Endemic birds of Tasmania Birds described in 1844