TO BE CONTINUED... Page 8

Text by Nicole Bouglouan

Photographer:

Patrick Ingremeau
TAMANDUA

These images and the text are subject to copyright and cannot be used without express authorization from the owners. Legal issues

Sources:

HANDBOOK OF THE BIRDS OF THE WORLD Vol 9 - by Josep del Hoyo - Andrew Elliot - David Christie - Lynx Edicions - ISBN: 8487334695

HANDBOOK OF THE BIRDS OF THE WORLD Vol 12 by Josep del Hoyo-Andrew Elliott-David Christie - Lynx Edicions - ISBN: 8496553423

Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines: Passerines De R Schodde, IJ Mason – Editeur: Csiro Publishing, 1999 – ISBN: 0643102930, 9780643102934 – 851 pages

The Birds World De Nicolae Sfetcu – Editeur: Nicolae Sfetcu, 2014 – 1844 pages

Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines: Passerines De R Schodde, IJ Mason – Editeur: Csiro Publishing, 1999 – ISBN: 0643102930, 9780643102934 - 851 pages

Birds of the World (Ménuridés)

Birds of the World (Atrichornithidés)

Birds of the World – Climacteridae

Encyclopedia.com – Lyrebirds – Menuridae

Encyclopedia.com - Scrub-Birds (Atrichornithidae)

Encyclopedia.com – Climacteridae

CREAGUS@Monterey Bay (Don Roberson)

Fat Birder (Menuridae)

Fat Birder (Atrichornithidés)

Fat Birder – Climacteridae Australasian Treecreepers

Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia

 

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The bird and its nest, where everything starts…

Second part: The Passerines – Order Passeriformes

Page 7: Menuridae – Atrichornithidae – Ptilonorhynchidae and Climacteridae

At the beginning of the breeding season and following several courtship displays, the nest-site is selected by the pair, or one of the members of the pair, and the nest is built within this area. For numerous species, the nest is the place where displays and copulation occur. It plays a very important role during the nesting period. It is the cradle of the chicks, the place where the adults feed them prior to their first flight towards independence.

The family Menuridae includes only one genus and two species, the Superb Lyrebird and the Albert’s Lyrebird. Both species are found in eastern Australia where they frequent wooded areas and rainforest. These ground-dwelling species feed mainly on insects and larvae, but small vertebrates (lizards and frogs) and seeds are also part of their diet. They forage mainly in the soil, often scratching among debris and leaf-litter.

The lyrebirds are large birds with short-rounded wings, but the wingspan is about 68-76 cm to 76-79 cm respectively. As they are mainly living on the ground, legs, feet and claws are long, well-adapted to their terrestrial behaviour, while their flight is usually restricted to episodes of gliding downhill.
Their plumage is dark grey-brown to rufous-brown above, and dark grey to pale grey-brown below. The Albert’s Lyrebird is generally more red-brown than grey-brown on throat, flanks and rump. The short, slender bill is black, the eyes are blackish, and legs and feet are dark grey-brown.  

Superb Lyrebird

But these birds, especially the males, have a long tail (up to 50-60 cm) that shows two external long curved feathers, named “lyrates”. In the Superb Lyrebird, these two feathers are buff-white, regularly barred with chestnut. The other tail feathers show lacy appearance. There are seven pairs of feathers, with longer central pair. They are named “filamentaries”.
The upper tail feathers are brown, whereas the underside is silvery white, becoming conspicuous when the tail is inverted during the displays.
The Albert’s Lyrebird has shorter and less spectacular tail than that of the Superb Lyrebird, only curving upwards when the bird is not displaying.
In both species, the females are duller in plumage, with less modified tail feathers.
The juveniles resemble adults, but the rectrices are narrower and more tapered. The throat is also more rufous. Males need 6-8 years and females 5 years to acquire the full adult plumage.   

Superb Lyrebird

Female

These terrestrial birds roost at night in trees, often 20-45 metres above the ground. They perform series of clumsy leaps accompanied by wing-flapping to ascent, whereas the descent in the morning is made with glides from branch to branch.

The behaviour of the Albert’s Lyrebird is poorly known, but the Superb Lyrebird is more often observed.   
Males are territorial and use vocal and visual behaviour, including songs, upright postures, chasing, calling and fighting.
The male’s song is spectacular with a large component of mimicry interspersed with species-specific vocalizations.

Superb Lyrebird

They breed at the beginning of the austral winter, usually in June until early November.  
In the early winter, the males secure “arenas” within territories for their displays, in order to attract the females. The displays consist in songs and dances. The songs are elaborated, with rich and powerful notes mixed with mimicries of other bird species.

The dances occur on mounds situated within the territories. These mounds are made with mud by the males. Then, they stand onto these mounds to be better seen by females. The males throw the tail forwards over the back, and shake their long feathers, producing vibrations along the lacy feathers and the lyrates. At this moment, the tail appears as a wide vibrating fan. Usually, one male will mate with several females. The copulation takes place on a mound.

The male Albert’s Lyrebird is territorial too. The courtship displays are performed on platforms of vines and twigs, on or just above the forest floor. The displays are fairly similar to that of the Superb Lyrebird, accompanied by loud singing also including mimicry. During this behaviour, the vegetation around the platform often vibrates. The copulation probably occurs on the platform.

The nest is usually bulky and enclosed with a side entrance, sometimes with an access ramp. The nest base is a platform of sticks, while walls and roof are made with rootlets, twigs, bark, fern fronds, vegetal fibres, leaves and moss. The bottom is lined with softer plant material and body feathers, probably from female’s plumage. Sometimes, some green vegetation may be placed on the roof.

Superb Lyrebird

Female

Most nests are on the ground or less than two metres above the ground, often at base of trees, earth banks, boulders, rock faces, fissures and forks of dead or living trees, tree roots and fallen trunks. It may be placed up to 25 metres in tree too.
The female lays only one grey to purple-brown egg, with dark grey markings. The incubation lasts about six weeks. The chick is covered with white down. It leaves the nest about six to ten weeks after hatching, but it still depends on female for 7 or 8 months more.
The male is polygamous and does not take any part in nesting duties.

Superb Lyrebird

The lyrebirds are threatened by degradation of their habitat and introduction of non-native plant species. Predation of adults by introduced mammals may also impact the numbers.
The Superb Lyrebird is still common in suitable habitat. It is evaluated as Least Concern.  
The Albert’s Lyrebird has restricted range in which the habitat was cleared for agriculture, forestry and settlement, involving decrease of numbers. It is listed as Near Threatened.   

The family Atrichornithidae includes only two species, the Rufous Scrubbird and the Noisy Scrubbird. Both are in the genus Atrichornis. They are native and endemic to Australia, where they have restricted ranges. The Rufous Scrubbird is rare, whereas the so rare Noisy Scrubbird was through to be extinct until 1961.   
The family Atrichornithidae is an ancient family which is probably most closely related to Lyrebirds (see above), but also to bowerbirds and treecreepers. 

The Rufous Scrubbird (17-18,5 cm) is found in the thick undergrowth of forests in coastal E Australia, and the Noisy Scrubbird (19,5-23 cm) frequents the thick coastal scrub in extreme SW Australia.
They have short, rounded wings and long, broad, graduated tail often held cocked. Their stout legs are adapted to their terrestrial behaviour among the dense vegetation.
The adults have mainly brown plumage showing fine, dark barring on the upperparts. On the underparts, the males have black markings on throat and breast. Wings, tail and flanks are finely barred dark brown.
The Noisy Scrubbird has paler underparts, with broader and longer malar stripe than in Rufous Scrubbird. Both females and juveniles have slightly duller plumage overall.  
They have a long, flat forehead and a pointed bill with straight culmen. The large eyes are dark brown to black. The stout legs and feet are pale brown to greyish.   

They feed primarily on invertebrates including ants, beetles, spiders and probably also small vertebrates. They forage in the leaf-litter on the ground, in vegetal debris and in understorey vegetation. They use the bill to search for insects in wood crevices and beneath leaves, or even burrowing through the thick leaf-litter and scratching the ground to find prey.
They are usually difficult to see, moving in mouse-like motion under the vegetal cover. They can run fast, but they are weak fliers and usually perform only some metres in flight.     

Both males are conspicuous when calling and singing. They give loud, territorial songs, consisting of a succession of strident notes rising in pitch before ending abruptly. The song of the Noisy Scrubbird can be heard up to 1,5 km away. It also sings during full moon nights.  

During the breeding season, the males are suspected to be polygynous and the females perform alone the nesting duties, although the males defend the territory. They breed during the austral winter.

The nest of both scrubbird species is a domed-structure with a side entrance built by the female. There is often a runway of about 20 cm long, sloping up to the entrance.
The nest is made with long, flexible leaves of sedges and grasses and built on clump of sedges or in a dense shrub. It is lined inside with wood fibres. The walls are usually up to 5 cm thick.  

The female Noisy Scrubbird usually lays a single egg, and incubates during a long period of 5-6 weeks. The chick is fed with fairly large items as it is growing. It fledges 3-4 weeks after hatching, but it remains with its mother for up to 6 months.

The breeding behaviour of the Rufous Scrubbird is poorly known. The female lays two eggs and incubates during 36-38 days, (but this period is uncertain). The young are fed by their mother and may fledge about 3-4 weeks after hatching. They still depend on the adult for food during at least three weeks after leaving the nest.

Both species are threatened by habitat destruction but the populations have now stabilized. They are the rarest passerines of Australia. The Rufous Scrubbird is currently considered Near Threatened, whereas the Noisy Scrubbird is listed as Vulnerable.    

 

The family Ptilonorhynchidae contains 8 genera and 27 species (bowerbirds and catbirds) that are close to the Australasian treecreepers (Climacteridae) and the lyrebirds (Menuridae).

The description of the family  Ptilonorhynchidae can be found HERE         

 

The family Climacteridae include the treecreepers, endemic to forests and woodlands of Australia and New Guinea. There are seven species and two genera, Cormobates and Climacteris. They resemble, but are not closely related to, the Holarctic treecreepers of the family Certhiidae. But some molecular support suggests that their closest relatives are the large Menuridae (lyrebirds).
The treecreepers are known for their habit of climbing tree trunks using only the feet, often spiralling upwards while searching for insects in bark crevices, especially ants. They live in a variety of wooded habitats, forest or open woodlands and forest edges.   
They usually nest in cavities such as the hole left by a broken-off tree branch. The members of genus Climacteris frequently breed in groups consisting of a monogamous breeding pair and its male offspring (rarely female) from the previous breeding season. The young male helps to care and protect the current brood.
The two members of genus Cormobates never breed co-operatively and the female performs alone most of the nesting duties.
The Climacteridae are threatened by degradation of the habitat through clearance of woodland, but they are uncommon to locally common in their range, and they are not considered globally threatened.   

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Brown Treecreeper

Climacteris picumnus

The plumage of these small birds (13-18 cm and 21-32 grams) varies from reddish-brown or brown to almost black. The underparts are streaked white, black or brown, and there is a white to rufous or red bar across the flight-feathers, well visible in flight. Some of them have a white throat whereas others show pale buff to red or white brows. The wings are broad, as usual in sedentary species. The tail lacks the pointed rectrices with thickened shafts, indicating that these birds do not use is as a prop while climbing.
The bill is slender and decurved, well-adapted for probing in bark crevices. The eyes are dark brown. Legs and feet are strong. The long hind claw assists the bird in griping the bark, and the front toes are specially adapted to this behaviour.  
Male and female are almost similar, but the female often shows orange patch on throat, neck or breast, depending on the species. The juveniles are duller.

Black-tailed Treecreeper

Climacteris melanurus

Immature

The treecreepers are primarily insect-eaters and feed especially on ants, but centipedes, snails, small reptiles and seeds are also part of their diet. They occasionally feed on tree sap and may sometimes take nectar from flowers.
They forage along tree trunks and on low branches, searching for prey in bark crevices with the slender, decurved bill. The visited trees are often eucalyptus and casuarinas. But they also hunt on the ground in the leaf-litter and on fallen branches.
The flight is undulating over long distances, with short periods of flapping interspersed with long glides. 

White-throated Treecreeper

Cormobates Leucophaea

They frequently call through the day, giving the typical staccato contact call all year round. The White-throated Treecreeper has an impressive repertoire with about ten distinct calls, often sex-specific.
The members of genus Climacteris only have four to six vocalizations. The members of a pair or groups of Red-browed treecreepers keep in close vocal contact while foraging high in trees.
When disturbed by intruders or while mobbing predators, the Brown Treecreeper and the Rufous Treecreeper produce a dissonant rasping chatter, frequently heard when the birds are flushed from the ground or as they climb or perch in trees.   

The breeding season starts towards the end of the austral winter with the egg-laying, and continues for 3-5 months. Two or three broods are usually reared.
The species of genus Cormobates, including the White-throated Treecreeper and the Papuan Treecreeper breed in pairs. The female of the first one may pair with two males, but the male defends two adjacent territories. The nest is built by the female alone, often in natural hole but also in artificial cavities when available.

Black-tailed Treecreeper

Climacteris melanurus

In contrasts, the Climacteris species are co-operative breeders, with the monogamous breeding pair and a male offspring of the previous year helping to build and defend the nest and to feed and care the chicks. However, some pairs may have up to three helpers.

The courtship feeding by male to female is common, accompanied by calls. The White-throated Treecreeper approaches the female from below while giving trilling calls and lowering and shivering the wings. The female may reject and even toss the offering several times and the male eventually eats it. Prior to the copulation, the male calls from horizontal perch while lowering both head and body, cocking the tail and shivering the wings. When the female approaches, the male lifts both wings and tail almost vertically while rocking from side to side. It may also chase her until copulation occurs on vertical or horizontal surface.
The courtship displays of other species such as Brown Treecreeper and Rufous Treecreeper are less elaborate, with both mates hopping excitedly between branches while bobbing the head up and down until the female crouches on horizontal perch prior to copulation.

Brown Treecreeper

Climacteris picumnus

The females of genus Climacteris build the nest, but the male usually bring materials, especially feathers used for lining the nest. The nest-building lasts about 1-2 weeks, but lining is often added during the incubation and nestling stages.
The nest is a thickly woven cup made with dried grasses and strips of bark. The cup is lined with fur, wool, feathers, vegetal down, bark fibres, leaves, moss and sometimes snakeskin.
If the cavity is too much deep, the birds may add grass or bark, but also kangaroo or horse dung, or sometimes charcoal, and the nest is built on top of these materials.

But the Australasian treecreepers also show a peculiar behaviour during nest-building, laying, incubation and early nesting stages. An adult takes an object from the nest and wipes it back and forth on the wood or the bark inside the cavity, but also around and up to two metres above and below the hole, and even on the trees around the nest-site. This behaviour usually lasts until the object has almost disintegrated.
Both Brown Treecreeper and White-browed Treecreeper perform this ritual which may serve to repel potential nest predators including arboreal reptiles and ants.

The females usually lay 1-3 eggs, but more often less than two for three species, and almost three for the White-throated Treecreeper. The incubation lasts 16-18 days in Climacteris species, whereas this period lasts 22-23 days in Cormobates species. The female alone incubates and forages for herself, but she is also fed by her mate and by helpers in Climacteris species. The nesting period lasts 25-28 days, and up to 5 days after leaving the nest, the juveniles shelter in large tree hollows where they are fed by their parents and the helpers. In contrast, the young Cormobates perch and climb clumsily in the open. For most species, the young become independent 30-40 days after fledging.

White-throated Treecreeper

Cormobates Leucophaea

The Climacteridae are threatened by habitat fragmentation and degradation caused by burning and clearance of forests involving population decline. However, they are described as uncommon to locally common in suitable habitat.
The White-throated Treecreeper (Cormobates Leucophaea) is common and able to survive in small woodland remnants if there are some old trees, and it occurs in several protected areas. The Papuan Treecreeper (Cormobates placens) appears to be secure in its elevated habitat between 1,250 and 2,600 metres, and up to 3,000 metres in some areas.
The Red-browed Treecreeper (Climacteris erythrops) is vulnerable to clearance and fragmentation of the habitat, but it has been observed in small patches of forest. The Black-tailed Treecreeper (Climacteris melanurus) is the least known of this family and is it locally common. The Rufous Treecreeper (Climacteris rufus) is fairly common to common but some declines in agricultural regions have been reported. The Brown Treecreeper (Climacteris picumnus) is affected by clearance of forest and removal of fallen or dead timber used for nesting. The White-browed Treecreeper (Climacteris affinis) is affected by clearing and grazing and is relatively uncommon.          

Red-browed Treecreeper

Climacteris erythrops