The chestnut-rumped heathwren (''Hylacola pyrrhopygia'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

in the family

Acanthizidae The Acanthizidae—known as Australian warblers—are a family of passerine birds which includes gerygones, the thornbills '' Acanthiza'', and the scrubwrens of ''Sericornis''. The Acanthizidae family consists of small to medium passerine birds, ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found 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 found els ...

to temperate and subtropical forests and heathlands of Australia.

Taxonomy

The chestnut-rumped heathwren was first described by the Irish zoologist

Nicholas Aylward Vigors Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an Irish zoologist and politician. He popularized the classification of birds on the basis of the quinarian system. Early life Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow on 1785 as fir ...

and the American physician and naturalist

Thomas Horsfield Thomas Horsfield (May 12, 1773 – July 24, 1859) was an American physician and naturalist who worked extensively in Indonesia, describing numerous species of plants and animals from the region. He was later a curator of the East India Company ...

in 1827. The generic name ''Hylacola'' derives from the Greek ''hylē'' 'woodland' and the Latin ''-cola'' 'dweller'. The specific epithet ''pyrrhopygia'' derives from Greek ''pyrrhos'' 'flame-coloured, red' and ' 'rump'. It is also known colloquially as the scrub warbler. There are three subspecies: ''Hylacola pyrrhopygia pyrrhopygia'' in New South Wales and Victoria; ''H. p. parkeri'' in the

Mt Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills ...

of South Australia; and ''H. p. pedleri'' in the southern

Flinders Ranges The Flinders Ranges are the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts about north of Adelaide. The ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna. The Adnyamathanha people are the Aboriginal group who have inhabit ...

of South Australia.Gregory, P. (2020). "Chestnut-rumped Heathwren (Hylacola pyrrhopygia), 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.chrhea1.01

Description

The chestnut-rumped heathwren is a small bushland bird with an olive-brown back with conspicuous reddish-brown rump and tail coverts.Simpson, Ken, Day, N. and Trusler, P. (6th edn., 1999). ''Field Guide to the Birds of Australia''. Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin Books Australia . It has a streaked brown-on-white chest and the belly and rear flanks are grey-buff. There is a dark subterminal band with a white tip on the usually erect tail. Both sexes have a dull white eyebrow; eyes are yellow, while bill, legs, and feet are grey. There are only small differences between the subspecies that are not easily recognised in the field. It measures in length.

Distribution and habitat

The chestnut-rumped heathwren occurs in southeastern Australia from the

Granite Belt The Granite Belt is an area of the Great Dividing Range in the Darling Downs region of Queensland and the New England region of New South Wales, Australia. The Granite Belt is centred on the town of Stanthorpe. The cool, high country of the g ...

of southeast

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

through eastern

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and southeast

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

.Morcombe, Michael (2012) ''Field Guide to Australian Birds''. Pascal Press, Glebe, NSW. Revised edition. In Victoria, it ranges inland to the

Grampians The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian r ...

and

Bendigo Bendigo ( ) is a city in Victoria, Australia, located in the Bendigo Valley near the geographical centre of the state and approximately north-west of Melbourne, the state capital. As of 2019, Bendigo had an urban population of 100,991, mak ...

region, but is more usual in coastal parts.Pizzey, Graham; Doyle, Roy (1980) A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Collins Publishers, Sydney. In New South Wales, it occurs inland as far as the

Warrumbungles The Warrumbungles is a mountain range in the Orana region of New South Wales, Australia. The nearest town is Coonabarabran. The area is easiest accessed from the Newell Highway which is the major road link directly between Melbourne, Victo ...

and Temora. Scattered populations occur in the

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South W ...

and

, and the

Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula () is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western side of the peninsula was occupied by the ...

of South Australia. Its preferred habitats are

heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...

s of coastal, mountain and hinterland areas, and the dense undergrowth of forests and woodland.Slater, Peter (1974) ''A Field Guide to Australian Birds: Passerines''. Adelaide: Rigby. It is sedentary and uncommon within its range.

Behaviour and breeding

The chestnut-rumped heathwren is usually shy and secretive until the breeding season from July to November, when both sexes will sing from a perch on a bush, though still staying partly concealed. Its song is a rich, melodious warbling ''chi-chi-tu-weet'', ''kwe-reep'', and suchlike notes in great variety, blended with mimicry of other birds. It also makes a harsh or scolding ''zeet'' on contact or alarm. The chestnut-rumped heathwren builds a domed or globular nest on or near the ground in tussocks or dense shrubs. The nest is composed of dry grass stems, bark fibre and rootlets, often appearing untidy. A clutch of three or four eggs is laid and usually incubated by the female for 14-16 days. The eggs, measuring , are salmon-pink, freckled with light chocolate-brown, more so at the larger end.

Diet and foraging

The chestnut-rumped heathwren forages singly, in pairs or small parties, occasionally with

mixed species flocks A mixed-species feeding flock, also termed a mixed-species foraging flock, mixed hunting party or informally bird wave, is a flock of usually insectivorous birds of different species that join each other and move together while foraging. These are ...

of other ''Acanthiza'' species and variegated fairywrens (''Malurus lamberti''). Its diet consists of

arthropods Arthropods (, (gen. ποδός)) are invertebrate animals with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and paired jointed appendages. Arthropods form the phylum Arthropoda. They are distinguished by their jointed limbs and cuticle made of chitin, oft ...

, including flies ( Diptera), spiders (

Araneae Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species dive ...

), moths and their larvae ( Lepidoptera), ants ( Formicidae), cicadas (

Cicadidae Cicadidae, the true cicadas, is the largest family of cicadas, with more than 3,200 species worldwide. The oldest known definitive fossils are from the Paleocene, a nymph from the Cretaceous Burmese amber has been attributed to the family, but co ...

), and cockroach egg-sacs (

Blattodea Blattodea is an order of insects that contains cockroaches and termites. Formerly, termites were considered a separate order, Isoptera, but genetic and molecular evidence suggests they evolved from within the cockroach lineage, cladistically m ...

). It also eats the seeds of various grass species.

Conservation

Although the population of chestnut heathwrens is declining, the species is currently classified as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. Th ...

by the IUCN. However, it is listed as

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 and inv ...

in South Australia and

Vulnerable Vulnerable may refer to: General * Vulnerability * Vulnerability (computing) * Vulnerable adult * Vulnerable species Music Albums * ''Vulnerable'' (Marvin Gaye album), 1997 * ''Vulnerable'' (Tricky album), 2003 * ''Vulnerable'' (The Used album) ...

in Victoria, with continued

fragmentation Fragmentation or fragmented may refer to: Computers * Fragmentation (computing), a phenomenon of computer storage * File system fragmentation, the tendency of a file system to lay out the contents of files non-continuously * Fragmented distributi ...

and

loss of habitat Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss and habitat reduction) is the process by which a natural habitat becomes incapable of supporting its native species. The organisms that previously inhabited the site are displaced or dead, thereby ...

, and predation by introduced predators, being regarded as the main pressures.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27075266 chestnut-rumped heathwren Birds of New South Wales Birds of South Australia Endemic birds of Australia chestnut-rumped heathwren Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN