#sericornis

[snototter]

A large billed scrubwren (Sericornis magnirostra) in Tarra-Bulga National Park, Victoria, Australia

by Tim Bawden

[hello-birdies]

Sericornis magnirostra by Arthur Grosset

[best-bird-tournament]

Sericornis scrubwren

Which is the best bird?

Large-billed scrubwren

Tasmanian scrubwren

Atherton scrubwren

White-browed scrubwren

Voting ended onJun 30, 2025

[drhoz]

There are 6 scrub-wrens in Australia all with a e-zitt call and here we look at their behaviour. Beginning with the White-browed , large billed and Yellow-throated. Unfortunately I have not included the Tasmanian bird

[drhoz]

#1994 - Sericornis maculatus - Spotted Scrubwren

Photo by Keith Morris on iNaturalist.

The name apparently translates as Spotted Silkbird, but I don't know what's particularly silky about them. Only distantly related to the feathered Jurassic dinosaur Serikornis.

A small passerine bird found in undergrowth from Adelaide west to Shark Bay. Before 2019 they would have been considered part of the White-browed Scrubwren, S. frontalis, but the taxonomy of the various subspecies of both remains a bit fluid, and they're known to be cross-fertile where the ranges overlap. Their family, the Acanthizidae—sometimes called Australian warblers - are a sister taxon to the Pardalotes (Pardalotidae).

Scrubwrens are among Australia's most active birds, constantly foraging in pairs amongst the leaf-litter for insects, other small arthropods, and the occasional seed.

The call is a harsh chattering of scalding notes, especially when disturbed. Scrubwrens are also accomplished mimics.

The nest is a large ball of grasses and other plant material, with a side tunnel leading to a cup lined with feathers. This is normally built on or near the ground in thick vegetation, but may be in a tree fork a few metres above. Acanthizids have unusually long incubation periods for passerines, rivalling those of much larger Corvids - Scrubwrens may take 3 weeks to hatch.