| Rufous scrubbird | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Atrichornithidae |
| Genus: | Atrichornis |
| Species: | A. rufescens |
| Binomial name | |
| Atrichornis rufescens (Ramsay, 1866) | |
| Synonyms | |
Atrichia rufescens Ramsay | |
Therufous scrubbird (Atrichornis rufescens) is abirdspecies in thefamilyAtrichornithidae. It isendemic toAustralia.
One of two species ofAtrichornis, known as scrubbirds, the only extant populations of theAtrichornithidae family; the noisy scrubbirdAtrichornis clamosus is restricted to a small population in western Australia.
Two subspecies are recognized: the nominateAtrichornis rufescens rufescens, andA. rufescens ferrieri.[1]
The description of a new species byEdward Pierson Ramsay,Atrichia rufescens, was published in 1867 in theProceedings of theZoological Society of London (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 theRichmond River in New South Wales, noting the great difficulty in obtaining them. The epithetrufescens was proposed for therufous tint of the plumage that distinguished it from the western scrubbird, named byJohn Gould asAtrichia clamosa.[2]
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.[3] They are known for loud vocalisations and at times can produce extensive repertoire of mimicry.
The species occurs only in isolated locations in north-easternNew South Wales and south-easternQueensland. 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.[1]
By the mid-20th century, it was almostextinct. A subsequent recovery toNear Threatened status in 2004 was followed by successive uplisting toVulnerable andEndangered 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.[1]
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.[1]
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).[4]
