The rockwarbler (''Origma solitaria''), 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 ...

in the family

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

. It is the only bird species

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 ...

to the mainland of the state of

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 ...

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 and systematics

English artist and naturalist

John Lewin John William Lewin (1770 – 27 August 1819) was an English-born artist active in Australia from 1800. The first professional artist of the colony of New South Wales, he illustrated the earliest volumes of Australian natural history. Many of his ...

described the rockwarbler in 1808. For many years it was the only member of its genus until genetic work showed that it was related to two species of mousewarblers from New Guinea. The rockwarbler diverged from the common ancestor of the other two species around 9 million years ago. Rockwarbler has been designated the official name by the

International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", ...

(IOC). Common names also include cataract-bird, cave-bird, origma, rock-robin, and sandstone robin. A former common name, hanging dick, came about from its nest, which hangs suspended in a cave. It has no

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

Description

The rockwarbler is in length and weighs around , with predominantly dark grey-brown plumage, darker wings and more red-brown underparts, cinnamon-tinged face and forehead, and whitish throat. Its tail is black. Adult males and females have similar plumage. Juveniles have duller and paler plumage than the adult, with a reddish tint to the throat, and a greyer chin. It can be distinguished from the pilotbird by its smaller size and head, white throat patch, and square tail. Its main call is a repeated shrill ''chis-sick'', given during the breeding season–though they may also give a ''tid-ed-dee''. Its contact call is rasping and smooth. The alarm call is similar to the contact call, but a single note. Its scold call is a chatter similar to that of scrubwrens. They are accomplished mimics, and will replicate the calls of numerous other birds, including scrubwrens, white-eared honeyeaters, grey butcherbirds,

eastern spinebill The eastern spinebill (''Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris'') is a species of honeyeater found in Southeast Australia temperate forests, south-eastern Australia in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas of Canberra, Sydney, Melbo ...

rufous whistler The rufous whistler (''Pachycephala rufiventris'') is a species of whistler found in New Caledonia and Australia. Predominantly a reddish-brown and grey bird, it makes up for its subdued plumage with its song-making ability. Like many other memb ...

s and more.

Distribution and habitat

It is usually seen hopping erratically over rocks while flicking its tail. Its preferred habitat is woodland and gullies with exposed sandstone or limestone rocks, and often near water. Its distribution is central eastern New South Wales, within a radius of Sydney. It has been affected adversely by human-modified habitat, and has declined in these areas. Most of its range is protected in national parks, which has insulated the species from habitat loss. They generally do not migrate, except in very dry conditions.

Behavior and ecology

Rockwarblers may live alone, in pairs, or in family groups with as many as five members. They do not fly very far, though they are quite fast. Flights tend to be low to the ground. When not flying, they will flick their tail side-to-side.

Breeding and nesting

Mated pairs maintain a territory, nesting in a sandstone cave. The nest is a hanging structure made of grasses, roots, bark and moss, with spider web used as an adhesive. It has a dome-shaped entrance. Breeding season is from August to January. The female lays a clutch of three eggs, which take around 23 days to hatch. Up to two clutches may be laid in a season.

Diet

Rockwarblers are generally

insectivores A robber fly eating a hoverfly An insectivore is a carnivorous animal or plant which eats insects. An alternative term is entomophage, which can also refer to the human practice of eating insects. The first vertebrate insectivores wer ...

, but will supplement the diet with seeds. Insects are taken mostly on the ground, or in lower branches of vegetation. They may also hover in short bursts to catch prey. They are inquisitive and will investigate nooks and crannies in rocks, as well as under leaf litter. They are nimble, being able to move vertically up rock faces to probe rock features. Preferred insects are ants, wasps, and beetles, as well as butterfly and moth larvae. Panic grass and

wheat Wheat is a group of wild and crop domestication, domesticated Poaceae, grasses of the genus ''Triticum'' (). They are Agriculture, cultivated for their cereal grains, which are staple foods around the world. Well-known Taxonomy of wheat, whe ...

are both acceptable grains. They will also take food left by humans, namely bread crumbs and butter.

References

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q1587691 Birds described in 1808 Birds of New South Wales Endemic birds of Australia Origma Taxonomy articles created by Polbot