#shriketit

#571, an eastern shriketit! What a strange bird.

By Frankzed, CC BY 2.0

Etymology: Curved Falcon

First Described By: Vieillot, 1816

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Australaves, Eufalconimorphae, Psittacopasserae, Passeriformes, Eupasseres, Passeri, Euoscines, Corvides, Orioloidea, Falcunculidae

Status: Extant, Least Concern

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

The Crested Shriketit lives entirely in Australia 

Physical Description: The Crested Shriketit is a small yellow bird, reaching between sixteen and nineteen centimeters in length. They have distinctive white and black striped heads, with small thick beaks. The males have shaggy black crests on their heads, while the females have more smooth heads. Some varieties of this birds are black and olive on their backs, wings, and tails; while some are yellow nearly all over. Regardless, they have yellow undersides all over. The juveniles tend to be somewhat browner than the adults. They are round, stocky passerines, rather than slender, and have a vague appearance like they’re smiling! Even though they are not. In short, these are quite adorable little birds.

Diet: Crested Shriketits mainly feed on small invertebrates and some fruits, seeds, and other plant materials, though invertebrates such as insects and spiders are the bulk of their diets. 

By Aviceda, CC BY-SA 3.0

Behavior: Crested Shriketits primarily forage on branches, sometimes divided based on sex with males feeding higher in the trees than females; they tend to look for trees with smooth bark, with males preferring dead branches and females preferring to glean food from leaves. They will pick around the bark or underneath it, and even tear it away or dig into the bark or plants to find food. They have been observed breaking off twigs, holding it in their mouths, and poking it into holes to force out insects. They’ll also hold their food with their feet and bashing it against the branches to break it apart to eat. They make a series of descending and ascending notes with double whistles to one another, though some make high-pitched descending mournful whistles. They’ll also yell at each other with scolding “tut-tut” calls.

These birds tend to vary when they breed, some breeding in the late winter, others breeding closer to the start of summer. They breed in simple pair, sometimes with helpers, and are very territorial over their breeding areas. The females will build nests of deep cups of barks and dry grass, covered with spiderwebs and lichen. They are usually placed fairly high above the ground, and two to three eggs are laid in the nest. The female will do most of the incubation for about three weeks, with some help from the male; both parents and any helpers will aid in feeding the young for two more weeks. The fledglings are then cared for by the parents for up to six months before going out on their own. They do not tend to migrate, but they may move locally in response to food availability. 

By J. J. Harrison, CC BY-SA 4.0

Ecosystem: Crested Shriketits are mainly found in eucalyptus forests and woodlands, though they will also be found in river-associated vegetation in drier areas and in even in some of the remaining rainforests of Australia, though they prefer slightly drier habitats. They are preyed upon by a variety of predatory birds, and their nests are parasitized by at least three different species of Cuckoo.

Other: These birds are not threatened with extinction and are quite common in their habitats; they have shown some decline in areas due to logging and fires, but not enough to be classified as nearly threatened. Some local populations are more vulnerable to fires than others.

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the Cut 

Crested Shriketit (Falcunculus frontatus)

...a species of shriketit (Pachycephalidae) which is endemic to the continent of Australia, where it is known to occur in open eucalypt forest and woodland. Despite their large parrot-like bill, crested shriketits feed mainly on insects and spiders. The large bill is used for bark-stripping, allowing the crested shriketit to gain access to invertebrates under tree bark. 

Although F. frontatus is currently placed in the family Pachycephalidae, recent genetic evidence suggests that it belongs in its own family Falcunculidae. The three subspecies of F. frontatus which all have disjunct ranges are also sometimes given full species status. 

Classification

Animalia-Chordata-Aves-Passeriformes-Pachycephalidae*-Falcunculus-F. frontatus