Large-billed Scrubwren

Overview

The large-billed scrubwren (Sericornis magnirostra) is a passerine bird endemic to eastern Australia. It inhabits dense undergrowth in temperate, subtropical, and tropical moist forests across a wide range.

Identification

• Measures 11.5 to 13 cm in length and weighs approximately 10 g.
• Features a longish, slightly upturned black bill and a dark reddish-brown eye set against a pale buff face.
• Upperparts are light grey-brown with an olive tint, the throat is pale buffy-white, and the belly is greyish.
• The rump and tail are light rufous-brown, and the bird is mostly silent but occasionally emits calls such as 's-cheer s-cheer' or 'chwip-chwip'.

Habitat

Found from near Cooktown in northern Queensland to Kinglake and the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria, the species prefers rainforest in the tropics and wet sclerophyll forest in temperate areas. It is sedentary and more common in the northern part of its range.

Diet

The large-billed scrubwren is insectivorous, foraging in small flocks in the low to middle levels of the forest. It gleans arthropods such as spiders, ants, wasps, beetles, and lepidopteran larvae from tree bark, branches, and debris suspended in vines and epiphytes.

Did you know?

The species frequently occupies the abandoned nests of other birds, notably the yellow-throated scrubwren, constructing its own rough domed structure of bark, grass, and moss lined with feathers.