Rennell Whistler Pachycephala feminina Scientific name definitions

c. 15 cm. Male is hen-plumaged, having crown brownish olive, sides of face rusty, collar rusty olive, upperparts dark olive, rump feathers tipped yellowish olive, uppertail-coverts brownish olive, tail dark olive-brown; underparts citrine-yellow, breast and flanks tinged olive or rusty olive, undertail-coverts buffy yellow; iris dark brown; bill horn-coloured, mandible sometimes a little paler; legs lead-grey; eyes black, with pale buff eyering. Female is like male or somewhat duller. Juvenile is similar to adult, with clear rusty wash on underparts and crown.

Previously included in P. pectoralis (see that species); see also P. orioloides. Separable from others in the complex by a combination of (both sexes) dull olive-chestnut head and wings, blackish-olive mantle to tail, narrow pale eyering and bill, and pale yellowish underparts (1 Dutson, G. (2011). Birds of Melanesia: The Bismarcks, Solomons, Vanuatu and New Caledonia. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ); split supported by molecular evidence (2 Jønsson, K. A., M. Irestedt, L. Christidis, S. M. Clegg, B. G. Holt, and J. Fjeldså (2014). Evidence of taxon cycles in an Indo-Pacific passerine bird radiation (Aves: Pachycephala). Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (Series B Biological Sciences) 281:20131727. Close ). Monotypic.

Rennell, in S Solomon Is.

Song not typical of whistlers, very different from the P. pectorialis/P. orioloides complex elsewhere in Solomons or Australia, being loud and diverse, with notes at constant pitch, and including squeaks, mellow notes, impure tones, rapid doublets and triplets and slurs; characteristic repetition of a note 2–8 times, first on one pitch, then on another, each successive set becoming louder, faster and less pure-toned, e.g. “chuk-chuk-trutrutretretretret...”. Described as a loud, melodious “tjuep” (like a call of Eurasian Blackbird Turdus merula) followed immediately by “jeep-jeep-jeep”, repeated quickly about six times. Alarm a rapid hoarse “kraeh-kraeh-kraeh” or “tchara-tchara-tchara”.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Restricted-range species: confined to the Rennell and Bellona EBA. Generally considered to be fairly common. Has a small population inferred to be suffering a moderately rapid decline. This species’ geographical range is restricted to c. 990 km², within which its population is estimated to be 6000–15,000 individuals and is decreasing as a result of habitat conversion and loss, although forests on the island in the 1990s were estimated to be still largely intact. Small birds are hunted for food and sport on Rennell and populations of passerines are also reduced following the passage of tropical storms.