The rufous scrubbird (''Atrichornis rufescens'') is a

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Atrichornithidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Taxonomy

One of two species of ''

Atrichornis Scrubbirds are shy, secretive, ground-dwelling birds of the family Atrichornithidae. There are just two species. The rufous scrubbird is rare and very restricted in its range, and the noisy scrubbird is so rare that until 1961 it was thought ...

'', known as scrubbirds, the only extant populations of the Atrichornithidae family; the noisy scrubbird ''

Atrichornis clamosus The noisy scrubbird (''Atrichornis clamosus'') is a species of bird in the family Atrichornithidae. It is endemic to the coastal heaths of south-western Australia (east of Albany). Description The noisy scrubbird features a dark brown coloure ...

'' is restricted to a small population in western Australia. Two subspecies are recognized: the nominate ''Atrichornis rufescens rufescens'', and ''A. rufescens ferrieri''. The description of a new species by

Edward Pierson Ramsay Edward Pierson Ramsay (3 December 1842 – 16 December 1916) was an Australian zoologist who specialised in ornithology. Early life Ramsay was born in Dobroyd Estate, Long Cove, Sydney, and educated at St Mark's Collegiate School, The King's S ...

, ''Atrichia rufescens'', was published in 1867 in the ''Proceedings'' of the

Zoological Society of London The Zoological Society of London (ZSL) is a charity and organization devoted to the worldwide animal conservation, conservation of animals and their habitat conservation, habitats. It was founded in 1826. Since 1828, it has maintained London Zo ...

(1866). Ramsay purchased two male specimens from T. MacGillivray and compared them with a previously described species from the southwest of Australia. The collector J. F. Wilcox shot these specimens in dense vegetation along the edge of Bowling Creek, near the

Richmond River The Richmond River is a river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may ...

in New South Wales, noting the great difficulty in obtaining them. The epithet ''rufescens'' was proposed for the

rufous Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish- red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a d ...

tint of the plumage that distinguished it from the western scrubbird, named by

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...

as ''Atrichia clamosa''.

Description

Both sexes are brown with a rufous breast and a lightly barred back. The male has a long white streak on both sides on his neck and noticeable white edging on his throat. The female has a lighter breast and lacks the white edging. They are known for loud vocalisations and at times can produce extensive repertoire of mimicry.

Distribution and habitat

The species occurs only in isolated locations in north-eastern

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

and south-eastern

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

. It requires dense ground cover and deep leaf-litter in rainforest and wet eucalypt forest, at elevations above 600 m, where it forages on snails and insects on the ground.

Conservation

By the mid-20th century, it was almost

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

. A subsequent recovery to

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

status in 2004 was followed by successive uplisting to Vulnerable and

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

status in 2008 and 2012 respectively, in consideration of the fragmented status and small size of remaining habitats. Total population size was estimated at a low of ~2,500 pairs in the 1980s, but is currently estimated at 12,000 pairs. Most of the early decline is believed to have been driven by the clearance of the species' lowland habitats, and logging practices are implicated in current declines, together with natural aging (and consequent disappearance of understorey) of remaining eucalypt stands. Fires in late 2019 burnt 37% of all 1x1 km squares from which birds have been recorded since 1990, mostly in the Main and Gibraltar Ranges with the largest subpopulations on the Lamington Plateau and Border Ranges largely unaffected (G Ehmke unpublished). Emu volume10 plate 37

References

External links

BirdLife Species Factsheet.Image at ADW
{{Authority control Atrichornis Birds of Queensland Birds of New South Wales Endemic birds of Australia Birds described in 1867