 Speckled Warbler Chthonicola sagittata
Length 11–12.5 cm; wingspan 16–20 cm; weight 13.5 g.
A small, ground-dwelling, scrubwren-like bird, the Speckled Warbler is generally gregarious, often being seen in pairs, threes or small parties or, in winter, small flocks, though single birds are also occasionally seen. The species often forms loose foraging flocks with Buff-rumped and Yellow-rumped Thornbills. The species is typically encountered foraging on the ground, among the leaf litter as it slowly and deliberately hops around or beneath shrubs and trees, or over fallen timber, and less often, the species forages from grass-tussocks, the bases of tree-trunks or in low branches of trees and shrubs, usually below 5 metres above the ground. Although quiet and unobtrusive, it is not shy, often permitting a close approach by an observer. The flight of the Speckled Warbler is rather weak, slow, undulating and direct, usually close to the ground and seldom covering more than 20 metres. When disturbed, a Speckled Warbler will typically fly a short distance ahead and resume feeding, or fly to a low (often bare) branch of a nearby tree or shrub, where it hops from branch to branch, uttering scolding churring chatter in alarm, and then returning to the ground once the danger has passed. Adults sometimes remain motionless on the ground for long periods when disturbed. They typically sing from sparsely foliaged or bare branches of a low tree or shrub. The nests of Speckled Warblers are often parasitised by Black-eared Cuckoos.
HABITAT
The species mainly occurs in open grassy areas in dry sclerophyll forests and woodlands, especially box–ironbark associations, often with scattered shrubs (especially acacias) in the mid-storey or understorey, and often associated with rocky ridges or gullies. Such habitats are often dominated by eucalypts such as Blakely’s Red Gum, White Box, Bimble Box, Yellow Box, Red Box, Long-leaved Box, Mugga Ironbark, Narrow-leaved Ironbark, Grey Ironbark or stringybarks (such as Red Stringybark or Broad-leafed Stringybark), Spotted Gum or Manna Gum. Around Bendigo, Victoria, the species is absent from Red Ironbark and Yellow Gum forests, but in the Brisbane Ranges, it occurs in gullies within Yellow Gum forest. Speckled Warblers are also occasionally recorded in cypress-pine woodlands and associated habitats. They are sometimes also seen at the edge of dense Brigalow or Mulga shrublands or in deciduous vine-scrubs in Queensland. The species also occurs very occasionally in farmland with scattered trees, especially where there is a sparse shrub layer.
DISTRIBUTION
Endemic to eastern and south-eastern mainland Australia.
STATUS
- Vulnerable in Victoria
- Vulnerable in South Australia
THREATS
Much of the habitat inhabited by the Speckled Warbler has been cleared, and what remains continues to be cleared, with small fragments gradually losing remnant subpopulations. The species is adversely affected by the removal of timber, however, Speckled Warblers have been seen to temporarily colonise logged areas where the tree-crowns were left lying on the ground, which appeared to act as a substitute for the shrub layer until the leaves were lost. After fires near Bendigo, Vic., the abundance of the species decreased initially but, as the vegetation gradually regenerated, birds re-inhabited the area, preferring its new, sparse regrowth to nearby unburnt sections of dense vegetation.
MOVEMENTS
Sedentary
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