Rufous scrubbird facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Rufous scrubbird |
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| Illustration by Gould and Richter, 1869 | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Atrichornis
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| Species: |
rufescens
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| Synonyms | |
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Atrichia rufescens Ramsay |
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The rufous scrubbird (Atrichornis rufescens) is a special type of bird that lives only in Australia. It belongs to a unique family of birds called Atrichornithidae. This bird is known for its loud calls and amazing ability to copy other sounds.
Contents
About the Rufous Scrubbird Family
What is a Scrubbird?
The rufous scrubbird is one of only two types of birds called scrubbirds. These two birds are the only ones left in their entire bird family, Atrichornithidae. The other scrubbird is the noisy scrubbird (Atrichornis clamosus). It lives in a small area in western Australia.
Naming the Rufous Scrubbird
The rufous scrubbird was first described in 1867 by a scientist named Edward Pierson Ramsay. He called it Atrichia rufescens. Ramsay bought two male birds from a collector named T. MacGillivray. These birds were found in thick plants near the Richmond River in New South Wales.
The name rufescens means "reddish" or "rufous." This describes the bird's reddish-brown feathers. It helped tell it apart from the western scrubbird, which was named by John Gould.
What Does the Rufous Scrubbird Look Like?
Both male and female rufous scrubbirds are brown. They have a reddish-brown chest and a back with light stripes.
The male bird has a long white stripe on each side of its neck. It also has clear white edges on its throat. The female bird has a lighter chest and does not have the white edges on her throat. These birds are famous for their very loud calls. They can also copy many different sounds from other animals.
Where Do Rufous Scrubbirds Live?
Habitat and Location
The rufous scrubbird lives in only a few separate places in north-eastern New South Wales and south-eastern Queensland. They need thick plants on the ground and lots of fallen leaves. They live in rainforests and wet eucalypt forests. These areas are usually high up, more than 600 meters above sea level.
What Do They Eat?
Rufous scrubbirds look for food on the ground. They mostly eat snails and insects found in the leaf litter.
Protecting the Rufous Scrubbird
Conservation Status
In the middle of the 1900s, the rufous scrubbird was almost completely gone. But its numbers slowly started to recover. In 2004, it was listed as "Near Threatened." This means it was close to being endangered but not quite there.
However, its status changed again. In 2008, it became "Vulnerable," and in 2012, it was listed as "Endangered." This happened because the places where they live are broken up into small pieces. Also, the groups of birds are still quite small.
Population Numbers
In the 1980s, there were only about 2,500 pairs of rufous scrubbirds. Today, scientists think there are around 12,000 pairs.
Why Are They Endangered?
Most of the early decline happened because people cleared the forests where these birds lived. Today, cutting down trees for wood can still harm them. Also, as old eucalypt trees get older, the plants underneath them can disappear. This removes the important ground cover the birds need.
Large fires in late 2019 also burned a lot of the areas where these birds live. About 37% of the places where birds had been seen since 1990 were affected. Luckily, the biggest groups of birds on the Lamington Plateau and Border Ranges were mostly safe.
