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Order
Passeriformes
Family
Pachycephalidae
Genus
Colluricincla
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Bower's Shrikethrush Colluricincla boweri Scientific name definitions

Walter Boles
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2007

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

19·5–21 cm; 39–48 g. Male has crown, head side and upperparts dark brownish-grey to grey, lores pale grey; upperwing dark brownish-grey, remiges edged olive-brown on outer webs, tail grey-brown, rectrices edged brown; chin cream, throat brown with heavy grey streaks, grading to dull rufous on underparts; iris red-brown; bill black; legs bluish-grey. Female is similar to male, but has broad light rufous supercilium from forehead to behind orbit, lores cream, broken eyering rufous, heavier edging on remiges, iris dark brown, bill duller, base of lower mandible paler. Immature is like female; older male acquires darker bill.

Systematics History

Sister to C. harmonica, based on genetic data (1). Monotypic.

Subspecies

Monotypic.

Distribution

NE Queensland (Cooktown S to Townsville), in NE Australia.

Habitat

Tropical rainforest and regrowth, rarely adjacent wet sclerophyll; mostly above 400 m.

Movement

Sedentary. All recoveries of marked individuals less than 10 km from site of original ringing. Some of population may undertake altitudinal shift to lower elevations in winter; present at lower elevations throughout year at some sites.

Diet and Foraging

Insects; rarely, frogs. Forages at various heights, usually below canopy, rarely on ground; ground 1·2%, herb layer (below 1 m) 1·2%, understorey (1–5 m) 9·4%, subcanopy (5–10 m) 32·9%, lower canopy (10–17·5 m) 31·8%, upper canopy (17·5–25 m) 18·8%, emergents from canopy (above 25 m) 4·7%. In wet season, forages more in lower strata of forest. Obtains prey by gleaning (95·3%), occasionally sallying (4·7%). Feeds mainly among leaves (live and dead) and small twigs and branches (79·8%), remainder of time from branches, trunks, vines and epiphytes (19%), rarely on ground (1·2%).

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Song a clear whistle, rephrased in many variations, c. 20 different song types recorded, starting quietly and fast, becoming loud and rich, “da-dee da-dee pon-pon-pon”. Call “tuck”; alarm a harsh grating.

Breeding

Season Sept–Dec. In possible courtship or pre-copulatory display, two birds perched close together, one with wings lowered and fluttering and with tail raised while giving “tuck” note. Nest a compact cup of rootlets, dead leaves, twigs, fronds and bark strips, lined with rootlets, bound externally with spider web and tendrils, built 2·4–5·5 m (usually c. 3·6 m) from ground in fork of tree or sapling or in vine tangle. Clutch 2 eggs, sometimes 3, pale creamy with reddish-brown or light olive-brown blotches over lavender-grey, concentrated at large end, 27·1×19·7 mm; incubation of eggs and brooding and feeding of chicks by both sexes, no information on duration of incubation and nestling periods; both parents also feed fledglings. Maximum recorded longevity c. 7 years.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife VU Vulnerable
Not globally threatened. Restricted-range species: present in Queensland Wet Tropics EBA. Common within its small range.
Distribution of the Bower's Shrikethrush - Range Map
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  • Year-round
  • Migration
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Distribution of the Bower's Shrikethrush

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Boles, W. (2020). Bower's Shrikethrush (Colluricincla boweri), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bowsht1.01
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