Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris)

male Rufous Whistler in Australia.

Image by Tim from Ithaca - Some rights reserved. (view image details)

male Rufous Whistler singing at Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne, Melbourne, Australia.

Image by Frankzed from Melbourne, Australia - Some rights reserved. (view image details)

female Rufous Whistler in Canberra, Australia.

Image by Duncan McCaskill - Some rights reserved. (view image details)

juvenile male Rufous Whistler Pachycephala rufiventris juv male Kobble Creek SE Queensland

Image by Aviceda - Some rights reserved. (view image details)

RUFOUS WHISTLER FACTS

Description
The male Rufous Whistler dark-grey above with a white throat, black breast and a reddish underbody. Many males also have a black face mask (except in northern subspecies). Females are dull grey to brown, with streaked underparts. Young birds are much redder than adults and have heavily streaked underparts.

Size
17cm

Habitat
forests, woodlands, shrublands, gardens and treed farmland.

Food
insects, and sometimes seeds, fruit or leaves

Breeding
nest is a shallow bowl, made of twigs, grass and bark, bound with spider web and lined with fine grass. The nest is built in fork in a bush or tree. Lays 2-3 eggs

Range
throughout mainland Australia

distribution map showing range of Pachycephala rufiventris in Australia

distribution map showing range of Pachycephala rufiventris in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

Classification

Class:	Aves
Order:	Passeriformes
Family:	Pachycephalidae
Genus:	Pachycephala
Species:	rufiventris
Common Name:	Rufous Whistler

Relatives in same Genus
  Mangrove Golden Whistler (P. melanura)
  Olive Whistler (P. olivacea)
  Golden Whistler (P. pectoralis)
  Grey Whistler (P. simplex)