Jacky Winter.
Photo: K Vang and W Dabrowka © Bird Explorers
Jacky Winter on nest.
Photo: K Vang and W Dabrowka © Bird Explorers
Jacky Winter, juvenile.
Photo: K Vang and W Dabrowka © Bird Explorers
Jacky Winter, grooming.
Photo: K Vang and W Dabrowka © Bird Explorers
Jacky Winter.
Photo: Norman Chaffer Estate. © Australian Museum
Distribution map of Microeca fascinans
Map © Birds Australia Birdata
Jacky Winter
Scientific name: Microeca fascinans
Family: Petroicidae
Order: Passeriformes
- Featured Bird Groups
- Small insect-eating birds
What does it look like?
Description
The Jacky Winter is a small grey-brown flycatcher with a faint pale eye-line and white underbody. The dark tail has prominent white outer feathers which are obvious when it lands, wagging his tail from side to side. The Jacky Winter typically sits upright on a bare branch or perch, wagging its tail and uttering its 'peter-peter' call. There are three sub-species, with slight geographical variation, darker in the south and paler in the far north and inland. This species is also known as the Brown Flycatcher, Postboy, White-tail or Peter-Peter.
Similar species
The Yellow-bellied Flycatcher, Microeca flavigaster, is slightly smaller, with a longer tail, lacking the white edge. Female and immature Petroica robins are similar, but have a distinctive light bar in the wing.Where does it live?
Distribution
The Jacky Winter is widely distributed in mainland Australia and in south east New Guinea.
Habitat
Jacky Winters prefer open woodland with an open shrub layer and a lot of bare ground. They are often seen in farmland and parks.Seasonal movements
Resident and in some places a seasonal visitor.
What does it do?
Feeding
Jacky Winters dart out from a perch to snatch at flying insects, returning to the same perch again. They dive and twist in the air, hovering and grabbing at insects.
Breeding
During breeding, the Jacky Winter sings constantly and has high, slow song-flights. The cup-shaped nest is very small and made from grass and strips of bark, bound with spiders web on the fork of a dead branch. The female incubates the eggs and probably broods the young, fed by the male. They may raise several broods in a season. Their nest is always in an exposed position, clear of leaves.
Living with us
Living with humans
Numbers have declined substantially in some areas, particularly in the south, from clearing for farming or housing. Jacky Winters can be quite tame and familiar in some areas.
References
Morcombe, M. 2000. Field guide to Australian Birds. Steve Parish Publishing.
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.
Beruldsen, G 2003. Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Self-published, Queensland.