Tasmanian Thornbill.
Photo: K Vang and W Dabrowka © Bird Explorers
Tasmanian Thornbill.
Photo: K Vang and W Dabrowka © Bird Explorers
Tasmanian Thornbill at nest.
Photo: Purnell Collection © Australian Museum
Distribution map of Acanthiza ewingii
Map © Birds Australia Birdata
Tasmanian Thornbill
Scientific name: Acanthiza ewingii
Family: Pardalotidae
Order: Passeriformes
- Featured Bird Groups
- Small insect-eating birds
What does it look like?
Description
The Tasmanian Thornbill is a medium sized thornbill very similar to the Brown Thornbill A. pusilla. The two are best told apart by the adage that the Tasmanian Thornbill "wears the white underpants". The adult Tasmanian Thornbill is olive-brown above with rufous-brown suffusion to the forehead; dull rufous-brown rump-patch and prominent rufous brown panel on folded wings. The underparts are off-white with diffuse fine dusky mottling on chin, throat and breast, and clean white undertail-coverts. Juvenile birds are similar to adults but newly fledged birds are fluffier.
Similar species
Easily confused with Brown Thornbill A. pusilla which also occurs in Tasmania. The principal differences are (i) the undertail-coverts of the Tasmanian Thornbill are clear white whereas those of the Brown Thornbill are duller buffish; (ii) the edges of the primary feathers in the wing are a rich rufous -brown whereas the brown Thornbill has much les contrasting buff edges to the wing feathers; (iii) the tail is longer in the Tasmanian Thornbill; (iv) the chin, throat and breast are greyer; and (v) The forehead of the Tasmanian Thornbill shows little of the scalloping present in the Brown Thornbill.
Where does it live?
Distribution
Endemic to Tasmania and the islands of Bass Strait.
Habitat
Occupies similar habitat to that of the Brown Thornbill but somewhat damper. Understory of dense eucalypt forest, temperate rainforest with a well developed scrub understorey. Typically found in wet gullies rather than dry slopes.
Seasonal movements
The Tasmanian Thornbill is sedentary.
What does it do?
Feeding
Primarily insectivorous but eats seeds occasionally. The Tasmanian Thornbill is typically arboreal and forages at all levels in the forest, including on the ground. Gleans food from the leaves and the bark of trunks, branches and twigs.
Breeding
Breeds from September to January. Nests low in dense vegetation such as bracken and dense shrubs. The nest is a neat rounded dome usually covered by a hinged flap that almost covers the entrance hole. The nest is made of green moss, grass and fine strips of bark. 3 to 4 eggs are laid shortly after completion of the nest. Incubation is by the female alone however it is not known how long the eggs are incubated for nor the period from hatching to independence ( a challenge for a keen Tasmanian birdwatcher?).
Living with us
Living with humans
None
References
Pizzey, G. and Knight, F. 1997. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus and Robertson, Sydney.
Higgins, P.J. and J.M. Peter (eds) 2002. Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 6: Pardalotes to Shrike-thrushes. Oxford University Press, Melbourne.