Shy heathwren
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Shy heathwren
| image = Hylacola cauta Wilpena Pound.JPG
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| genus = Hylacola
| species = cauta
| authority = Gould, 1843
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision_ref = Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.
| subdivision =
- H. c. macrorhyncha - (Schodde & Mason, IJ, 1999)
- H. c. cauta - Gould, 1843
- H. c. halmaturina - (Mathews, 1912)
- H. c. whitlocki - (Mathews, 1912)
| synonyms = Calamanthus cautus
Hylacola cautus
Sericornis cautus
}}
The shy heathwren (Hylacola cauta) is a species of small bird in the family Acanthizidae, endemic to Australia. They inhabit mostly mallee woodland that has relatively dense shrub and heath understorey.
Taxonomy
Their taxonomic name was formerly Calamanthus cautus—classing them as fieldwrens—until they were renamed in 2008.{{cite book|last=Christidis|first=L|author2=Boles, W.E |title=Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|location=Collingwood, Victoria|year=2008|isbn=978-0-643-06511-6}} The generic name Hylacola derives from the Greek hylē 'woodland' and the Latin -cola 'dweller'.{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling|title=Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird-names|last=Jobling|first=James A.|access-date = 2020-04-18}} The specific epithet derives from the Latin cautus 'shy, wary'. Common names for the species include shy hylacola and mallee heathwren.Pizzey, Graham; Doyle, Roy (1980) A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Collins Publishers, Sydney. {{ISBN|073222436-5}} Four subspecies have been recognised: the nominate subspecies Hylacola cauta cauta in South Australia and Victoria; H. c. macrorhynchus in New South Wales; H. c. halmaturina on Kangaroo Island; and H. c. whitlocki in Western Australia.Morcombe, Michael (2012) Field Guide to Australian Birds. Pascal Press, Glebe, NSW. Revised edition. {{ISBN|978174021417-9}}Gregory, P. (2020). "Shy Heathwren (Hylacola cauta), version 1.0." In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.shyhea1.01
Description
The birds are cock-tailed with a chestnut rump that darkens towards the tip. Their feathers are white with brown streaking underneath and greyish-brown on the back and crown. They have a white eyebrow, tail tip and patch on the flight feathers, and a black bill. Their eyes are brown to yellowish-brown and legs are slate-brown. Females have slightly duller colouring, and immature birds are duller again with some of these being fawn-coloured underneath. They have a total length when adults of {{convert|12|-|14|cm|in|abbr=on}}.
Distribution and threats
They are uncommon residents across a wide part of southern Australia. Ranging from near West Wyalong in New South Wales to the Murchison River in Western Australia. In New South Wales, they are found in two isolated populations: one between Leeton, Willandra National Park, Nymagee and West Wyalong; and the other from Balranald to Trentham Cliffs. Within the state they are seen as a threatened and vulnerable, largely due to human-wrought habitat loss, and predation by foxes and cats.
Behaviour
=Diet=
Shy heathwrens feed mostly on ground-dwelling insects, and rarely on seeds.
=Nesting=
Their ground-level nests are dome-shaped and usually concealed within grass tussocks or shrubs.{{cite web|url=http://www.threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au/tsprofile/profile.aspx?id=10125|title=Shy Heathwren – Profile|publisher=Department of Environment and Climate Change, NSW|access-date=2008-06-05}} They typically lay 2 or 3 freckled and pinkish eggs.{{cite book|last=Slater|first=Peter|author2=Slater, Pat |author3=Slater, Raoul |title=The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds|publisher=Landsdowne|location=Sydney|year=1993|edition=Revised|pages=258|isbn=0-947116-99-0}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Commonscat|Calamanthus cautus}}
{{Wikispecies|Hylacola cauta}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q27075267}}
Category:Birds of Western Australia
Category:Birds of South Australia
Category:Birds of New South Wales
Category:Birds of Victoria (state)
Category:Endemic birds of Australia
Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot