Yahoo (bird)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The grey-crowned babbler (''Pomatostomus temporalis'') is a species of
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 Pomatostomidae. They are found in
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 ...
and
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
(
Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...
and
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...
). Its
habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
s include tropical and subtropical dry broadlife forests, tropical moist lowland forests,
shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominance (ecology), dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbaceous plant, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally o ...
s, and
savanna A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...
s.


Taxonomy

Two subspecies are recognized within Australia and New Guinea. ''Pomatostomus temporalis temporalis'' – This subspecies occurs within Australia in the states of Victoria, eastern Queensland (including Cape York), New South Wales and south-eastern South Australia. It is a vagrant or accidental visitor to the Australian Capital Territory. It is also the subspecies believed to occur within New Guinea. ''Pomoatostomus temporalis rubeculus'' – This subspecies occurs in Australia within the states of Western Australia, Northern Territory, western Queensland and a small area of northern South Australia. The breast color is usually used as the distinguishing morphological character between the subspecies, with a creamy white breast grading to mid-grey in ''P. t. temporalis'' and a mid-to deep-rufous brown breast in ''P. t. rubeculus''. Other differences relate to brow coloration, facial bands through the eye, tail length, and overall size. A zone of intergradation occurs between the two subspecies in north-central Queensland.


Naming

A number of alternate names have been provided for the grey-crowned babbler. *Yahoo – This popular alternate name is based on the distinctive call of the grey-crowned babbler. The source of this name is unclear. * Grey-crowned chatterer – Name given by A. J. North * Happy-jack – Popular name, quoted by A. J. North and others, relating to the species habitat of moving about in 'talkative' family groups. Source of this name is not known. * Dog-bird, barker, barking-bird – Popular names whose sources are not known. Presumably named due to cackling soft ''tuk'' note.


Conservation status


Australia

There are numerous lists of threatened fauna from within Australia. The official list of threatened species on the Australian
Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 The ''Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and cult ...
does not consider the grey-crowned babbler (either as a species or subspecies) to be threatened. From other sources, the national status of the grey-crowned babbler varies. The eastern subspecies is increasingly being considered threatened, although not by all: * The ''Directory of Australian Birds'' considers both subspecies of the grey-crowned babbler to be secure. * The ''Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000'' considers the eastern subspecies (''P. t. temporalis'') to be near-threatened. Within this document, this subspecies was considered to be near-threatened using criteria 'a' of Maxwell et al. (1996). That is, this subspecies has disappeared from over 50% of its former area of occupancy and/or extent of occurrence and are at risk of further decline. Although there has been little evident change at the northern edge of its range, the subspecies has been declining noticeably in the southern half of its range * The ''Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000'' considers the north-western subspecies (''P. t. rubeculus'') to be of least concern.


States of Australia

The conservation status of the grey-crowned babbler varies from state to state within Australia. For example: * The grey-crowned babbler is listed as threatened on the Victorian
Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988) The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Parliament designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...
. Under this Act, an ''Action Statement'' for the recovery and future management of this species has been prepared. On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, the grey-crowned babbler is listed as endangered. * The eastern subspecies of the grey-crowned babbler (''P. t. temporalis'') is listed as vulnerable on the NSW ''Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995''. This is the only subspecies occurring within NSW. * The grey-crowned babbler is listed on schedule 9 (rare species) of the South Australian ''
National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Protected areas of South Australia, consisting of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of 2018, South Australia contained 359 separat ...
''. * The grey-crowned babbler is not listed as a threatened species on the Western Australian ''Wildlife Conservation Act 1953''. * The grey-crowned babbler is listed as least conservation on the Queensland ''Nature Conservation Act 1992''.


Threats

The key process that has led to the decline of the eastern subspecies of the grey-crowned babbler has been the historic
loss Loss may refer to: *Economic loss *Grief, an emotional response to loss **Animal loss, grief over the loss of an animal Mathematics, science, and technology * Angular misalignment loss, power loss caused by the deviation from optimum angular al ...
and fragmentation of its preferred woodland habitat. Grey-crowned babblers generally have a poor ability to migrate across unsuitable habitats. As a consequence of fragmentation, breeding success and group size decline. Babbler groups are more susceptible to stochastic events leading to local extinction. Once a fragment has lost its population of grey-crowned babblers, natural recolonisation rarely occurs because of the species' poor dispersal ability.


References

* Maxwell, S., Burbridge, A. A. and Morris, K. (eds). 1996, ''The 1996 Action Plan for Australian Marsupials and Monotremes.'' Environment Australia, Canberra. {{Taxonbar, from=Q903035
grey-crowned babbler The grey-crowned babbler (''Pomatostomus temporalis'') is a species of bird in the family Pomatostomidae. They are found in Australia and New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). Its habitats include Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf fo ...
Birds of Australia Birds of southern New Guinea Least concern biota of Oceania
grey-crowned babbler The grey-crowned babbler (''Pomatostomus temporalis'') is a species of bird in the family Pomatostomidae. They are found in Australia and New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea). Its habitats include Tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf fo ...
Articles containing video clips Taxa named by Nicholas Aylward Vigors Taxa named by Thomas Horsfield Taxonomy articles created by Polbot