White-browed Scrubwren
Photo: G Little © Australian Museum
White-browed Scrubwren.
Photo: K Vang and W Dabrowka / Bird Explorers © K Vang and W Dabrowka / Bird Explorers
White-browed Scrubwren. Image from: John Gould (1804-81) The birds of Australia 1840-48. 7 vols. 600 plates Artists: J. Gould and E. Gould; Lithographer: E. Gould.
Photo: Research Library © Australian Museum
White-browed Scrubwren.
Photo: K Vang and W Dabrowka / Bird Explorers © K Vang and W Dabrowka / Bird Explorers
White-browed Scrubwren.
Photo: K Vang and W Dabrowka / Bird Explorers © K Vang and W Dabrowka / Bird Explorers
Distribution map of Sericornis frontalis
Map © Birds Australia Birdata
White-browed Scrubwren
Scientific name: Sericornis frontalis
Family: Pardalotidae
Order: Passeriformes
- Featured Bird Groups
- Small insect-eating birds
What does it look like?
Description
White-browed Scrubwrens are mostly dark olive-brown above, while the throat is buff grey and the flanks, belly and rump are dull rufous. They have a white line above the eye and another below the eye. The area around the eye between the lines is black, becoming greyer near the ear. The eye is light cream. Males and females are similar, but the females are slightly duller, particularly on the face. Subtropical and tropical populations are more yellow underneath, males having an almost black facial mask. Other populations along the southern coastline have dark streaking on the throat. Young White-browed Scrubwrens are similar to the adults, but are generally duller, with more chocolate-brown backs and duskier faces.
Similar species
The Large-billed Scrubwren, Sericornis magnirostris, shares part of its range with the White-browed Scrubwren. It is lighter, largely uniform brown in colour and lacks any markings on the face. The larger Yellow-throated Scrubwren, S. citreogularis, has a red-brown eye, is darker on the face and has a yellow wash on the throat, eyebrow and wings.
Where does it live?
Distribution
The White-browed Scrubwren is the most common and widespread of Australia's five species of scrubwren. Its range extends from northern Queensland, in a broad coastal band through South Australia to the mid Western Australian coast, and Tasmania.
Habitat
The White-browed Scrubwren lives in rainforest, open forest, woodland and heaths. It is usually seen in pairs, low down in the thick vegetation.
What does it do?
Feeding
White-browed Scrubwrens feed mostly on insects and other small arthropods. Occasionally, they eat some seeds. Birds feed in pairs among the thick vegetation of the forest floor.
Breeding
The nest of the White-browed Scrubwren consists of a large ball of grasses and other plant material, a side entrance tunnel leading to a cup lined with feathers. This is normally located on or near to the ground, in thick vegetation, but may be in a tree fork a few metres high. The eggs are pale blue to pale purple and are spotted with brown at the base.
References
Pizzey, G. and Knight, F. 1997. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus and Robertson, Sydney.
Schodde, R. and Mason, I. 1999. The Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria.
Schodde, R. and Tideman, S.C. (eds) 1990. Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds (2nd Edition). Reader's Digest (Australia) Pty Ltd, Sydney.
Serventy, V.N. (ed) 1982. The Wrens and Warblers of Australia. Angus and Robertson and the Australian Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife, Sydney.