78 THE S.A. OR.."l"ITHOLOGIST
Fig. I-a. Adult male of Psophodes nigrogularis leucogaster; b. Ps.n. (?) nigrogularis, male from Gnowangerup, W.A. (note: black margins to malar stripe); c, d. Ps.n. pondalowiensis (note: light edgings to tips of flight feathers) . THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 79
T·RE WESTERN.WHIPBIRD Preliminary notes on the discovery of a new subspecies on southern Yorke Peninsula; South Australia BY H. T. CONDON, SOUTH AU~TRAI-;IAN.Mp'SEUM.
This is a preliminary account of the examined specimens of Psophodes nigro hitherto unsuspected occurrence of the gularis taken in the Murray Mallee many Western Whipbird (Psophodes nigrogularis) .year~· ago. . . in a small, coastal .strip of little disturbed True to form). the writer .was at first scep sandhill country in the vicinity of.Pondalowie tical, . but MI'. Chapman was insistent and Bay, southern Yorke Peninsula, South it was decided to pay a visit to the area at Australia. the first opportunity, Mr. M. H. Waterman Without doubt, much remains to be was jnvited to accompany the party, -which discovered and written about this most included Mr. Chapman and the wife and fascinating of Australian birds, which many son of the writer, . Mr. Watt
Mrs. Daley's recording was played to Shearer, were present on November 20th and various members. Mr. F. E. Parsons, who 21st at the site of the October camp, when has had experience with the Western Whip birds were seen and heard. During a brief bird in the Murray Mallee was unable to visit during the third week in December no make a positive identification. In a subse birds were heard singing by Mr. Chapman. quent discussion with the writer, Mr. Parsons Mr. Glover visited the district during the stated 'that it was nearly 30 years since he last days of the year 1965 and the first week had heard the whipbird's call and he was of of January, 1966, when birds were heard the opinion that the tape recording probably calling on the tops of the sand dunes but differed from the notes as he remembered none was observed. them. The writer, accompanied by D. Condon, At first, members of the investigating visited the area on January 20, when birds party were inclined to liken the calls to were seen along the West Cape road. one . of those of the Rufous Songlark (Cinclorhamphus mathewsi) though it was THE LOCAIJTY not believed that they were of that species. Pondalowie Bay is situated near the The calls;' which came from all directions extreme south-western tip of Yorke Penin over a wide area, were uttered at regular sula. The peninsula separates the gulfs of intervals from about dawn to 10 o'clock in Spencer and St. Vincent of the South Aus the morning. tralian coastline between Long. 136" 49' A number of sightings of the birds were and 1380 7' E: It has an average elevation obtained in the sand dunes and adjacent of about 400 feet, being an up-standing dry sclerophyll scrub heathland near the road fault-block of Archaean rocks running par to West Cape. allel to similar horst structures that form It was not long before an individual was Kangaroo Island and the Mt. Lofty Ranges; caught in a mist net on the slopes of a dune all are of about Pleistocene age. and, following a quick examination of our As noted by its discoverer, Captain catch, the mystery was solved: here, indeed, Matthew Flinders, Yorke Peninsula resembles was a previously unknown community of the "a very ill-shaped leg and foot." The whip Western Whipbird! birds seem to be confined to the toe of the Photographs and details of the bird were foot, in the vicinity of Lat. 350 15' S., from taken and it was agreed that it should be beyond Royston Head at Brown's beach in set free after Mr. Waterman had placed .a the north, southwards through the Ponda CSIRO band on its leg. lowie Bay-West Cape district towards Reef At this time we had no idea ofthe number Head. of birds in the area, but as time went on we The seaboard of the south-west tip of the decided that they were fairly numerous and peninsulaconsist of cliffs, up to 250 feet high, later, in the same morning, another bird was which are composed mainly of aeolianite or caught and taken as a specimen for the South aeolianite changed to kunkar, with occasional Australian Museum. outcrops of Archaean rocks (Crawford 1965). Aeolian bedding is visible on the pale SUBSEQUENT VISITS brownish cliff faces. Marine action is very The area was visited by Mr. Harold strong but the headlands are protected by Crouch on October 20, and November 20-21, the extremely durable ancient rocks at their for the purpose of making tape recordings bases. of the calls of the whipbirds. The writer, Large sheets of kunkar are present on the accompanied by Mr. David Condon, cliff tops between the regular series of white inspected a number of places around Ponda to very pale orange mobile, calcareous sand lowie Bay, from October 12-15, Mr. Chap dunes of Recent age. Most of the dunes are man returned to the district during the first less than 100 feet high in this area; further week in November and visited Section 77 north, near Daly Head, a section not yet on November 3rd and 4th. ' examined by us in detail, they are larger. A party of a dozen members of the Asso Inland, kunkar overlies most of the older ciation, including Messrs. 'Chapman, Crouch, Pleistocene covering of aeolianite and other D. Kraehenbuehl, D. McNamara and R. deposits; swales and deflated areas may be THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 81
occupied by salt and gypsum lakes or saline is little more than 80"F., and the average swamps. Patches of dense mallee scrub annual rainfall is 19-20 inches. Precipitation provide a haven for numerous mallee faunal is seasonal and greatest in July. However, types. despite fairly reliable winter rains and low About 8 miles south-west of Pondalowie run-off, there are no permanent streams, Bay is the flourishing gypsum industry of the evaporation is high, and the lakes are saline Stenhouse Bay district, where also salt is and completely dry during the hot summer. obtained by solar evaporation methods. Wood (1930) described the vegetation of Gypsum is quarried from lakes which occur the western half of the foot of Yorke Penin in a low-lying area about four miles wide sula as Mallee (Eucalyptus diversifolia asso and 6 miles long. Much of the district is ciation), a scrub-form peculiar to many of below sea-level, being barred from the sea at the semi-arid districts of southern Australia. either end by modem sand dunes. So far as known" the whipbirds are not Stenhouse Bay is the'closest settlement to regular inhabitants of this type of sclerophyll the whipbird area and Warooka, 45 miles scrub, being found only in the sand dune away, the nearest town; there are a number strip. . of week-end shacks at Pondalowie Bay and DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT other places in the vicinity. Although the area has remained relatively isolated since The Western Whipbird is a sedentary the gypsum industry began operations in the species with a number of relict populations, year 1889, encroaching agricultural pursuits, mostly separated from each other by the building of new access roads, and the hundreds of miles, in the semi-arid belt of expansion of the important mineral industry southern and south-western Australia (Fig. constitute a serious threat to the surviving 2). The exact distribution is incompletely remnants of the primeval habitat and its known and habitats have been found to vary denizens. somewhat according to locality as described The main part, or leg, of Yorke Peninsula, below. which for long has been used for sheep runs (A) Southern Yorke Peninsula, South and the production of wheat and barley, is Australia. now. fairly well populated in contrast to the In this most recently discovered locality it sparse settlement of most of the foot. Never is thought that the greatest density of the theless, early introductions of sheep occurred species is confined to the coastal sand dunes over 100 years ago at Corney Point, White of the Pondalowie Bay district, Hundred of Hut, Cape Spencer and adjacent parts. Warrenben. The birds have been heard to the north Whitworth (1866) records that it "was a~ necessary to remove the flocks in winter, as, of the Bay at a few places, such the vicinity of Brown's Beach and east of if not, they are subject to coast disease," Royston Head. Just south of Pondalowie which he refers to as a "dangerous malady" Bay, the species has been observed or heard caused by "the malarious exhalations which in a small area extending from West {Jape arise from the mangrove swamps." Actually, to .a little north of the ship-wrecks of the the mineral deficiencies in the soil, which "Ethel" (1904) and "Ferret" (1920). r give rise to "coast disease," are still a retard ing influence on the pastoral industry in Quite possibly whipbirds may survive' at a these parts and the effects of the light grazing few isolated places to the north of Royston of sheep around Pondalowie Bay are not very Head along the coast in the Hundred of 'Car apparent at present. On the other hand, ribie and even further eastwards, near the owing to the increasing popularity of the waterfront, in. the Hundred of Coonarie, district as a holiday resort, the landscape is Inland, the" birds are almost certainly everywhere marred by human debris and absent from the Mallee scrublands where the litter. environment is very different from that of Because of its proximity to the ocean, the the dunes. . toe of the peninsula has a climate that is The following botanical notes on the thip milder and more maritime than further birds' habitat were made hX::.Mr. Darrell north: There are strong sea breezes, the Krahenbuehl, during a visit to Section '26B, average maximum mid-summer temperature Hundred of Warrenben, on November ;20th ~ •• .. 1 00 I:.;l
; :.. " " ~I .
, ," 1 .QLD. ," S.AUS. " : ~-- W. AUS. .1 1 1 I " r I ' , 'M&~ ~ :'', :"~jr I >CI:l o ~ /I .... ~ g WESTERN· WHIPBIRQ . o " ' 53CI:l " Psophodes niqroquluris o-i
SHOW.ING DiSTRIBUTION OF SUBSPECIES' " -; t
;uI1TC 125 130 135,· 140
Fig. 2-Known 'occurrences (* = extinct; ? = status uncertain). it, Wongan Hills (*); b. near Perth (*); c. near Busselton (*); d. Cape Mentelle and Margaret Ri~er area (*); e..Augusta and Cape Leeuwin (*); f. King George's Sound (*); g. Gnowangerup Borden districts; h. Two People Bay; k, Hundred of Brooker, Eyre Peninsula (?); m.:Manya/Peebinga area of Victoria and South Australia (?); p. Pondalowie Bay district, southern Yorke Peninsula; q. Hundred of Flinders, near Port-. Lincoln. (See. . p. 93). THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 83
and 21st, 1965; the scientific nomenclature Numerous tracks of the birds were also noted is that of Eichler (.1965). in the sandy, open patches. "The narrow-leafed Soap (or White) :"At the ,base of a swale many of the larger Mallee, Eucalyptus diversifolia is usually to t.rees an? shrubs that ~re found on the Ino be found on the higher crests of die white tected SIde of the.inland dunes are again calcareous sand dunes, other co-dominant p:.~selft. In ad?It~on, ,creepers of' Sea species being Black Tea-tree, Melaleucalan Spmach, Tetragonia implexicoma, Old Man's ceolata, Sheoak, Casuarina stricta, Native Beard and Threlkeldia diffusa climb through Cherry, Exocarpus syrticolus, Sandhill Daisy', the bushes' and shrubs. Perennials such as Olearia axillaris, Leucopogon parviflorus and Flax Lily, Dianella reuoluta, Groundsel Se Acacia calamifolia. On the lower slopes, necio lautus, Pigface, Carpobrotus TOSSii' and Native Pine, Callitris canescens, Fan Flower, Everlasting, Hellchrysum leucopsidium com Scaevola crassifolia, Beyeria leschenaultii, plete a short list of the under-storey plant Templetonia 'retusa, Lasiopetalum discolor, species.". .. Logania crassiiolia; and Acrotriche patula are commonly represented. As might be expected, the whipbirds also "Taller shrubs and trees, as for example frequent the dry sclerophyll heathlands in the Native Cherry, are ,often festooned with the depressions adjacent to the sandhills. creepers of Dodder, Cassytha. spp., Sea These places are -rich in other native species Spinach, Tetragonia amplexicoma and Old of birds, which seem more numerous than Man's Beard, Clematis microphylla. A many of the true mallee forms found further mistletoe, Amyema melaleucae, is parasitic inland. on the Black Tea-tree. _ The soil covering is a sandy loam. and "Nearer the coast, where the strong winds there are'outcrops of limestone or kunkar are more prevalent, and in places where extending to about a foot below' the surface: considerable sand drift occurs, the mallee, "The areas are densely vegetated, with E. diversifolia, is often replaced in the high tangled clumps of Black Tea-tree parasitised dune slope communities by Coastal Wattle, by large masses of. Dodder, Native Cherry, Leucapogon parvzflorus (Family Epacri Acacia sophorae. "Clumps of the SandhillDaisy, Porcupine daceae), Acacia calamifolia and Lasiope Grass, Spinifex hirsutus, Sedge, Scirpus no talum discolor. Scattered groups of Sheoak, dosus and Calocephalus brownii favour areas some 20 yards apart, are sporadically distri- of sand drift and it is only in the swales of buted through this association. . the dunes that most of the plants occurring "At intervals there are small sandy rises in the dunes farthest from the coast are to occupied by huge, spreading depauperate be found again. .-. . trees of E. diversifolia. -:' "There are a number of densely vegetated "Undershrubs are many and varied. For sand dune swales among the high coastal the purpose ofthis survey, the following may sandhills. Whipbirds were observed at close be men~ioned-:Pomaderris paniculosa, South quarters in one of these swales, Austrah~n Chnstmas Bush, Bursaria spinose, "On the high dune slopes of the periphery Calythrzx tetragona, Templetonia retusa and of a swale only a few drift-arresting plant two native currant species, Acrotriche patula species are to be found owing to the severity and A. cordata. . of sand-blast action by the wind; species HIn places, a dwarf native pine,'Callitris noted were Coastal Wattle, Sandhill Daisy, canescens forms .an almost pure community, Porcupine Grass and Sedge. . but the Coastal Daisy, Olearia, is almost com- pletely absent. . .-' - "On the steeper slopes, a small section of drifting sand, largely devoid of herbage, "Dense tussocks of ,Cutting-grass, Gahnia precedes. another group of sand-binding deusta, occur throughout the lower .under plants dominated by the species just men storey of this mallee association, with some. tioned together with Fan Flower, Sea Rocket, very fine- clumps of Porcupine, Triodia irri- Cakile maritima and Calocephalus brownii. tans, on the more sandy loams." . "The whipbirds were observed running - At this stage in our 'obseivations' it would through the Acacia and Olearia bushes di appear -tha;t the whipbirds prefer places in rectly adjacent to the sand drift section. the sandhills where the Sandhill Daisy, 84 THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST
Oleasia axillaris and Coastal Wattle, Acacia Whether the whipbirds still survive in sophorae are the dominant species. these parts is uncertain but it would seem Stomach contents have shown that whip that none has been seen or heard for many birds are insectivorous and Mr. Krahenbuehl years. Specimens of a female and male, thinks they may feed on large grubs, similar now both housed in the South Australian to cockchafer larvae, which he noticed under Museum, were obtained near Peebinga, in and around the Coastal Wattles. He suggests the years 1936 and 1938, respectively. The that the grubs may be attacking the roots last set of eggs may have been taken in the of these acacias, since members of the genus year 1940. commonly fall prey to such parasitism. (D) . South-western Australia. (B) Eyre Peninsula, South Australia. T4e Western Whipbird was first discovered The presence of the Western Whipbird on in Western Australia, more than 100 years Eyre Peninsula was reported by Mr. F. E. ago, by John Gilbert at the Wongan Hills, Parsons in July, 1937, soon after he had nearly 100 miles north-east of Perth. heard calls in the Hundred of Brooker. The Gilbert (quoted by Serventy & Whittell nearest settlement was Cockaleechie and the 1962) met with whipbirds in a variety of habitat was Mallee. There are no museum habitats. In the neighbourhood of the Vasse specimens of this population. and Augusta it was "only found in the rankest vegetation growing around swamps (C) Murray Mallee of Victoria and South or small running streams; near Perth ... on Australia. the dry sandhills immediately adjacent to the The presence of the Western Whipbird in beach ..."; and in the interior (? Wongan the Murray Mallee was not established until Hills) "it was confined to the dense dry September, 1932, when a bird was'shot by thickets"; whilst at King George's Sound it the late J. A. Ross in the parish of Manya, was in groves of tea-trees in the sandhills. north-western Victoria (Howe and Ross, Milligan (1902) found the species in the 1933) . This event took place thirteen South-west at Margaret River, north of Cape years after the birds were first met with, in Leeuwin, where, he says, "it is locally known September, 1919; the first eggs, wrongly as the 'Rain-Bird' by reason of the fact that thought to be those of a Wedgebill, were immediately. preceding rain it seeks the sum taken in September, 1920. mits of the coast hills." Syd. Jackson en Howe and Ross described the habitat as countered birds at Irwin's Inlet in the y~ar "low, dense scrub (rnallee, porcupine grass, 1912. teatree, broombush, etc.) . . . suitable for More recently, Lindgren (1958) has re the bird...." Much of this country, which ported birds at a place 75 miles east of is in the County Weeah, is undulating with Borden, the last-named town being over 50 fairly high sandhills and kunkar deposits on miles north of Albany and far from the the lower knolls; the harsh-leaved tussock coast. grass, Tiiodea irritans ("porcupine" or McGill (1965) met with whipbirds at a "spinifex") is abundant in the swales and the place east of Gnowangerup, in the early chief shrub is broombush, Melaleuca unci- nata. .. morning of October 26, 1965. The birds . were noted in sandplain country in a small Similar mallee-broombush country extends' area of thick' vegetation "dominated by a into South Australia north of Pinnaroo, rather. extensive patch of Banksia sp." where, however, owing to intense agricultural activity, only remnants of the original sclera THE CALLS phyllous mallee association survive in two Without doubt, the most distinctive feature Flora Reserves, comprising 5,000 and 56,000 of the Western Whipbird is its loud call, acres respectively, in the Hundreds of Pee which can be heard at a distance of i mile. binga and Billiatt. According to Specht Unlike .its relative, Psophodes oliuaceus, (1961) mallee broombush is a vegetation Eastern Whipbird, whose loud, explosive call type dominated by low eucalypt trees, such note gives the group its name, the Western as E. incrassata and E. leptophylla with the Whipbird never makes the whip-like crack. pine, Callitris verrucosa and broombush as Nevertheless, some of its other notes heard co-dominants. at Pondalowie Bay are similar to those of P. THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 85 olioaceus and, as Mr. Harold Crouch has and tend to bounce off nearby objects, so that pointed out, like that species, the western it is difficult to believe that a birdcan be so bird has a true antiphonal song. near and yet remain unseen." Mr. Crouch has studied the latter with the Among other calls obtained, Mr. Crouch aid of a tape-recorder and the following are has a tape recording of a loud cry, quite dif extracts from his notes. ferent from the regular song, which "starts "There is a regular song phrase, which is with two harsh notes and finishes with an repeated continuously for periods of up to upward trill repeated at small intervals." Mr. three minutes. Each phrase is of about five Crouch refers to this as the "trill call," which seconds duration and consists of a series of is the same as the "decoy call" mentioned by notes with a pitch between those of a reed the writer further on in this account. warbler (Acrocephalus) and a garden cricket Replaying the calls obtained with the tape (Gryllulus sp.), recorder had varying effects on the. birds. "The notes have been likened to the For instance, there appeared to be no squeaky wheels of a dray being hauled up response to the regular song, which Mr. hill-this could be referred to as the 'cart Crouch thinks may be a flocking call. In wheel call'." mated Magpie Larks (Grallina cyanoleuca) It may be mentioned here that Master he has found that they respond very quickly Don. Crouch has described the song as to their antiphonal cries when replayed, "Happy Birthday to you," which seems very perhaps because they have very definite appropriate. For the repetitive song of the territorial boundaries. Possibly the whipbirds birds at Two People Bay, Mr. H. O. have less defined territories. Webster (1~66) suggests "It's for teacher," The only notes to which the birds have with the female chorussing "Pick it up." responded to date are the "trill calls" first Depending on the weather, the song, with recorded by Mr. Crouch. On October 20 a minor variations, is sung throughout the day pair of birds circled around at a distance of for no apparent reason. Our experience has about 25 feet from the loud speaker but suggested that the birds are noisiest in the remained silent. On November 20 there was morning, up till about 10 a.m. and again in no response until the trills were replayed the late afternoon. However, the writer on close to where a bird had been heard calling, more than one occasion heard the calls about when the birds came quietly to within a few 1 p.m. and just before noon. As with many feet of the speaker. On the completion of a dry country forms, the whipbirds seem to be 'series of "trill calls" the birds immediately more active on overcast days and perhaps started to sing antiphonally, using the regular after rain. . "cartwheel" song. "This," says Mr. Crouch, Various accounts by former writers claim "may explain their lack of interest on hearing that the whipbirds' calls are ventriloquial. the recording of another pair of birds calling Our experience does not support this and it -a single bird using the "trill call" could is of interest to note that Webster in his be, perhaps; the other corner of the "eternal latest contribution (1966) states that the triangle" !" birds regulate their calls with great skill but Similar experiences to those described by are not truly ventriloquial. Mr. Crouch were obtained by David Condon In an endeavour to test our belief, Mr. and the writer on November 13. With the Crouch set up a large parabolic microphone aid of the tape-recorder it was a simple and discovered that, as anticipated, the matter to start the birds singing "Happy sound came directly from a singing bird. He Birthday to You" almost at any time in says "whilst checking this it became apparent response to the "trill call," or "decoy call," that two birds were participating, one bird as we dubbed it. When the birds became having by far the major song; but the start silent a little stimulation with the decoy notes of each phrase was triggered by a soft started them off again and, more than once, 'Brrrrr' coming from another bush 3 feet other birds, which seemed to be several away, It is only when very close that the hundred yards, away, began singing "Happy. other call can be heard." Mr. Crouch con Birthday ...." for a short time. siders that "the call is sometimes hard to The agitation of the birds encircling the locate because the individual notes are shrill loud speaker was very obvious and their calls 86 THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST indicated an excitement which increased as there was a slight resemblance and it seemed each sequence of "decoy" notes was replayed. possible that on Y?rke Pen~nsula. there. was Towards the end of our encounter, which an isolated population of bristle-birds WIth a we terminated after more than an hour, the distinctive call." voices of the birds became hoarse, as if they The calls of the Mallee form have been had sore throats, and the "carthwheel" or discussed in detail by Howe and Ross (1933) "Happy Birthday . . ." calls became an and McGilp and Parsons (1939); and so far irregular mixture of sound that included as can be judged, there appears to be some some "decoy" cries and a plaintive ~?te resemblance to the notes of the birds at rather -like that of the Crested Bellbird Pondalowie Bay. The last-named authors (Oreoica gutturalis), a species which is an state that "when the male bird was heard inhabitant of the adjacent Mallee scrub. calling, we were able to approach within Other birds, such' as Yellow-winged and twenty or thirty feet of the calling bird, bl.7t Singing Honeyeaters, White-browed Babblers, it always kept plenty of cover between It Silvereyes and Thornbills were attracted by and us, and when we attempted to get closer, the "decoy calls" reproduced by the tape the bird became silent and slipped away, to recorder and some of them joined in the be heard calling about half an hour later general cacophony as we wereabout to depart at a distance of perhaps one quarter of a from the spot. . mile." They also remark "when the female Several individuals were seen in .dense is sitting on eggs she takes no notice of her bushes at distances of from eight to ten feet mate while he gives his full-throated calls, from the loudspeaker and as close as 3 feet but immediately he gives a sharp two-note to the observers. call (evidently the signal that her mate has On January 20, 1966, at 3 p.m., on a hot, food for her) she leaves the nest and goes sunny day the Whipbirds, quite unexpectedly, to the male bird. Weare inclined to think responded to playing of the decoy cans with that only the male bird gives the peculiar a few soft, or hesitant, "Happy Birthday ..." loud notes, that are so distinctive and difficult cries which followed some quiet warbling to describe, the female only uttering a soft notes. During this last visit, the species most chuckle." interested in the tape-recordings of the whipbirds' call were the Purp.le-backed Wren Howe and Ross refer to the song of the (Malurus Lamberti subsp.) and Spiny-cheeked Mallee Whipbird as "strange, rattling, and Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis). staccato, and inclined to be harsh, and could not possibly be likened to that of any other Mr. Brian Glover has supplied the fol bird that we know. It consists of twelve lowing: "On the early morning of January distinct utterances of four groups of three 31, 1965, and at times later in the day, a notes each, produced fairly quickly with a loud, penetrating bird call was heard coming slight perceptible pause after the third, sixth from the coastal sandhill vegetation at and ninth. .." They then give the notes Pondalowie Bay. All attempts to locate the in musical notation and continue" ... they birds failed. In my descriptions of the calls are uttered as if the bird had some difficulty I described them as "Don't want to see you in voicing them. They may be uttered fre yet" and "See you later quick," the penul quently, perhaps eight or ten times, or more, timate note being lower and the last note and again the birds may be silent for many higher than the rest." hours. They are ventriloquial to an extra Mr. Glover say.s: "The call was unlike ordinary degree. . . ." that of any bird with which I was familiar but I thought that it might have been uttered Mr. Parsons' record from Eyre Peninsula by a Rufous Bristle-Bird (Dasyornis broad was' based on; calls similar to those he had benti), which I had not heard for several heard in the Murray Mallee. years. Mr. Eric Lindgren, when near Borden, "However, during February 27-28, 1965, Western Australia, in August, 1957, .heard a many bristle-birds were heard at Nelson, duet song made up of "six to eight whistling south-western' Victoria and their calls were notes, the first call being 3 or 4 notes, imme different from tho~e I had heard' at Ponda diately answered by a call of similar duration lowie .Bay earlier in' the same'1'ear, although- and quality but consisting of different notes." THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 87
Serventy and Whittell refer to a "chitter "During feeding, the tail was closed and chitter" call "like that of the Southern Scrub mostly held in the horizontal position; at Robin when disturbed at its nest.'" other times the tail was carried at an angle McGill (1965) mentions "scolding" sounds or erect on some occasions. Birds were noted and "persistently-repeated metallic notes" to adopt the last position when scurrying made by birds lurking in the undergrowth. down a dune. Gilbert (in Gould) referred to its "peculiar "The young bird fed exactly like the adults, harsh and grating song . . . quite impossible only once receiving food from a parent, when to describe." He compared the notes, which the old bird called softly a few times-Ocher were only uttered as a duet, to those of a cher chit-ter cher.' The two birds moved crake. . towards each other and the juvenile was FIELD OBSERVATIONS passed some food while it squatted in a hunched position and vibrated the wings in The Western Whipbird is notoriously dif ficult to observe in its natural habitat. It a begging fashion. It then independently collected an item of food from the sand spends much of its time on or near the ground. where it lurks in dense undergrowth. and repeated the begging performance. The adult did not respond to this but flew to On rare occasions a bird may be seen in cover about 30 feet away, where it was flight or perched momentarily in a low tree followed, at a distance of perhaps feet, at a height of perhaps five to seven feet. The 6 by the juvenile. flight is strong, but not sustained. Its reac tions to a 'tape-recorder have been described "Further observations on feeding actions, above. . some of which are quite comical, were aban doned at 7.30 a.m." Mr. Chapman tells how, during the early morning of November 21, 1965, the acti Mr. Chapman noted that the whipbirds vities of a group of three birds, including often flew from one thicket to another within one juvenile, were observed -for more than a few feet of the -ground; the distances an hour on the slopes of a partially vegetated being short. The greatest measured dista?ce dune near West Cape. The birds, which was about 100 feet. Frequently the birds were first met with- at about 6.1~ a.m., were would fly directly into a bush and seconds watched, with the aid of r x 50 binoculars, later emerge from the other side. from a distance of about 50 feet. Whenever they have been observed in flight the tail has appeared fanned, with the "The juvenile appeared identical to the black bar and white tips of the rectrices adults, except that the black throat and white clearly visible. malar stripes were absent; a faint, light line The Western Whipbird, like its eastern was noted around the throat and the breast relative, has a short crest, which it raises showed indistinct, faint mottling. The pale frequently. The juvenile bird referred to ring that encircled the eye made the latter above by Mr. Chapman partially raised and look large and black. lowered its crest on several occasions, "Two of the three birds, including the although there seemed to be no cause for young, were feeding mainly around the edges alarm by the bird. Later in the same of the low vegetation, which afforded partial morning, a juvenile, presumed to be the same concealment. However, a considerable time individual just mentioned, raised its crest was spent on the open sandy patches of the while making scolding calls in response to dune. Most items of food were obtained whipbird calls emitted from a tape-recorder from the ground, although on two occasions operated by Mr. Crouch. At this time the the birds foraged amongst the lower foliage bird was only eight feet away and two other of the Fan Flower (Scaeuola) and Sandhill individuals were calling in the. background. Daisy (Olearia). Mr. R. Shearer .also observed the birds "The actions of the birds while feeding near West Cape on..November 21. He be appeared unhurried, although on obtaining lieves there is a tendency to keep the tail food they frequently darted to the cover of a erect when the birds are moving quickly bush. These quick movements appeared to over the ground. On the other hand, he be a combination of hopping and running: noticed that when alarmed, the birds kept at all other times the birds hopped. the tail flat to the ground with the head 88 THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST
held low and the crest erect. His notes on are long and stout, with the tarsus Iamini foraging activities are similar to those of Mr. plantar, i.e., with six strong scutes in front Chapman, except that he noticed that the and plain behind. . birds seemed to avoid the large clumps of The sexes are approximately alike. spinifex (Spinifex hirsutus). The only calls he heard were harsh grating cries similar INDIVIDUAL AND GEOGRAPffiCAL to those of a babbler (Pomatostomus). VARIATION On January 20, 1966, the writer observed Without doubt, the Western Whipbird is a small party of three or four birds scurrying a variable species, both individually and between low bushes on a sandhill- with their geographically. tails held erect in a manner very similar to The individual members of all forms show that of a ground-wren (Hylacola); their differences in the amount of minute white mov~ments were a mixture of hopping and spotting on the black throat and the general runnmg. tendency for a white chin in this species is more apparent in some specimens than THE BIRDS others. The spots on the throat are asym The Western Whipbird is about the size of metrically arranged and seem to have little a Singing Honeyeater, Meliphaga uirescens, to do with either age or sex. Immature indi i.e., roughly nine to ten inches (24 cm) long. viduals lack the black throat patch but are Its general coloration above is greyish olive, otherwise similar to adults. with a strong greenish tinge in bright sun In five specimens from King George's light. Mr. Chapman states that the birds Sound, only one adult male (023419) has appear brownish in dull light. som~ black markings, suggesting a band, at The underparts are greyish, except for the the Junction of the greyish breast and whitish throat, which is dull black edged on either abdomen: the abdomen is greyish like the side, with a white malar stripe, that com breast, in the other four. ' mences near the beak. The tail is long, The size and shape of the black barrings graduated and composed of twelve rectrices; and white tips of the rectrices appear to vary it is often fanned, when the black bars and somewhat independently of age and sex; but white tips are visible from below. There is h;ere there may be some geographical varia a short crest on the head. The greyish bill non. It would seem also that western birds is about 3/5ths the length of the head, strong, and those from the Murray Mallee have laterally compressed and slightly down black bills and darker feet than individuals curved. The culmen is keeled; nostril with examined by the writer at Pondalowie Bay; an operculum, rounded, and contained in a and there may be some geographic differences .small semi-circular groove. The lower in eye coloration, namely either red or brown . mandible is narrow and shallow with a partly The scattered populations in the South feathered groove near the base and the inter west could have belonged to more than one ramal space is also feathered. Rictal bristles form, but for the present it seems preferable are few and obscure. There is a ring of to distinguish three subspecies only, as follow: whitish feathers, which is not always visible (1) Psophodes n. nigrogularis Gould in museum skins, surrounding the reddish 1844. Bds. Austr., part 15-Western Australia eye. (= Wongan Hills apud Mathews 1931). In actions the whipbird resembles a honey Psophodes nigrogularis pallida Mathews eater at times, being a swift and expert flier. 1916. Austr. Av. Rec., 3, p. 60.-Cape Men However, its wings are rounded, with the telle, Western Australia. outermost primary the shortest, the next two shorter than the last seven which are about Diagnosis:-white malar stripe enclosed equal and of the same length as the with black; flight feathers uniform raw secondaries. The body plu.mage is long, dense umber above. Iris "brown" or "red." and rather coarse, especially on the flanks Distribution: - South-western Australia: and sides of breast. *near Perth, *Wongan Hills, *Margaret The whipbird spends much time upon the River, *near Augusta, *Irwin's Inlet, *King ground when it has been compared to a George's Sound, near Gnowengerup, Two babbler, Pomatostomus sp. The greyish legs People Bay (*=? extinct). THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 89
(2) Psophodes nigrogularis leucogaster tip is greatly reduced (4 mm) with the black Howe & Ross 1933. Emu, 32, page 147, bar separated from it (7 rom) and repre plate 22-Manya, Victoria. sented by a spot 9 rom in diameter and Diag~osis:-white malar stripe not en mainly on the inner web; next to middle closed with black; flight feathers uniform rectrices with a minute black spot but without hair brown (i.e., with less orange than (1» white; innermost or central pair without above. Iris "brown." black or white tips. Distribution:-*Murray Mallee of North Wing coverts greyish olive with a tinge western Victoria and Eastern South Austra of Saccardo's umber; flight feathers hair lia: Manya/Peebinga districts (*=? extinct). brown above, lighter beneath; forward or (3) Psophodes nigrogularis pondalowien outer edge of all except the two outermost sis subsp. nov. primaries drab grey, which extends around Diagnosis:-white malar stripe not enclosed the tips of the innermost four, each of these with black; flight feathers hair brown above; feathers also having a tinge of citrine drab the outer edge of all except the two outer on the outer web; secondaries buffy brown m~st primaries pale drab grey, with this above. colour extending around the tips of the inner Bill (maxilla) "gunmetal grey" (?= slate most four feathers and plainly visible when grey); tomium "pale hom"; (lower man the wings are closed. Iris "reddish." dible) "gunmetal at base, paler at tip." Type locality:-Pondalowie Bay, Yorke Inside mouth: "grey." Irides "reddish Peninsula, South Australia. brown" to "reddish." Distribution:-So far as known restricted Legs and feet: purplish grey (approxi to the coastal sand dunes of the south mately) in life. western tip of Yorke Peninsula, South Aus Photograph of head of bird when alive tralia. see cover picture. Note: in all the above descriptions, the DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF Pso colour names, except those in inverted com phodes nigrogularis pondaloioiensis: mas, are taken from Ridgway (1912) and Type: Adult male. S.A. Museum No. the details are given in the same sequence B 27133. as contained in McGilp & Parsons (1939) Date collected: October 30, 1965. for easy comparison. Locality: coastal sand dunes, near Ponda Measurements: total length 229 mm (9 lowie Bay, Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. inches); culmen 20 mm; wing 82 mm; tail Plumage: Top of head and nape greyish 119 rom; tarsus 24 mm; middle toe and olive; back greyish olive tinged with citrine claw 24 rom. drab; rump citrine drab; upper tail citrine Stomach contents: unidentified fragments drab merging into deep olive. A ring of of insects. pale (whitish) feathers around the eye; ear REMARKS coverts greyish olive tinged with isabelline Mathews described a bird from Cape colour. Throat black, a few feathers with Mentelle, near Margaret River, Western Aus minute white tips, especially at the chin; a tralia as "paler," named it "pallida," and white malar stripe (21 mm long); breast later published a coloured plate in volume light olive grey becoming light greyish olive 9 of his "Birds of Australia." The specimen, on the sides, with a small, indistinct central judging from this illustration, certainly does whitish patch extending to the abdomen and not differ much from those from adjacent under tail coverts; flanks and thighs Sac localities and it is preferable to follow Keast cardo's umber;' under tail coverts tawny-olive (1958) and Deignan (1964), both of whom with some whitish. Tail feathers (12 in have regarded pallida as a synonym of nigro number) greyish olive below, the two outer gularis. most rectrices on each side with a broad, However, whether more than one form black subterminal bar (22 mm wide) and can be listed from Western Australia is less white tip (9 rom); the next feather with the certain. Two skins (from Gnowangerup) of black bar separated from the white tip by breeding birds in the Serventy/Whittell col an area of greyish olive (4 mm), followed lection are much longer in the tail than others by the next tail feather in which the white from King George's Sound and have whitish 90 THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST bellies. Although not shown by conventional HIGHER CLASSIFICATION measurements, it is probable that in life the Order Passeriformes, Suborder Oscines. birds were larger than other specimens examined; there is no indication of a white Family Falcunculidae-R.A.O.U. Checklist chin. Gould, in his description of the type, (1926); Serventy & WhittelI (1962). which it is not unreasonable to assume be Family Muscicapidae, subfamily Orthony longed to a more northerly population, stated chinae-Deignan (19.64). "bill dark hom colour; irides dark brown; Family Muscicapidae, subfamily Cincloso feet dark hom colour ... tail 4} inches," matinae-Delacour (1964). whereas for the birds (males) taken in the M~ Family Muscicapidae, subfamily Timaliinae Gnowangerup district the late Major H. -Mayr & Greenway (1956). Whittell recorded "beak black, sides of lower mandible hom colour, except at lower base Family Muscicapidae, subfamily (?) Musci and tip; legs 'and feet slaty black with a capinae, tribe PachycephaIini or sub silvery sheen; iris red; inside mouth pink"; family Timaliinae, tribe Cinclosomatini the tail measures 5 1/16 inches. In the two -May: & Amadon. (1951). Gnowangerup birds the tail feathers are just Family Cinclosomatidae--Mathews (1931). as decidedly black-banded and white-tipped Family" Psophodidae-Mathews (1946). as in- eastern' birds (cf. Keast (1958) and Family Timaliidae--Beecher (1953). McGilp & Parsons, who state otherwise). In all forms some individuals show a SUMMARY OF STATUS OF WESTERN whitish abdomen, so that the name leuco WHIPBIRD gaster for the Murray Mallee subspecies is The Western Whipbird is included in the not truly descriptive, especially since the current list of Rare Species compiled by the specimen of the breeding female now housed International Council for Bird Preservation in the South Australian Museum is almost (lCBP) at the headquarters of the Inter entirely lacking in white beneath. national Union for the Conservation of Na The birds at Pondalowie Bay are readily ture, Vaud, Switzerland. It is listed by J. C. distinguishable by the pale edgings to the Greenway, Jr., in his book "Extinct and feathers of the wing (Fig. 1). This feature Vanishing Birds of the World" (1958) under is visible in photographs taken by members the heading "Some rare birds probably not of the staff of the South Australian Fauna in immediate danger" among which, the Conservation Department, Mr. M. Water author explains, are "some small populations man and Mr. David Condon (8 rum movie that do not appear to be in immediate danger film). of .extinction but because they are so few in There is some' difference in the colour of numbers may beendangered should they be the flanks in the three forms, those of ponda disturbed in the future." lowiensis being the most tawny. In the Whilst no exact estimate of numbers of nominate form the flanks are light brownish the species can be given, -the fact that their olive and in leucogaster they are isabella occurrence is limited to areas that are colour. described in terms of hundreds of acres rather VERNACULAR NAMES than square miles is enough to place it on Black-throated Psophodes-Gould's Hand- the "endangered" list in these present days book) (1865). ' of furious economic expansion. Grazing and Black-throated . Coachwhip Bird related ,agricultural pursuits'constitute the R.A.O.U. Checklist '(first edition). most obvious threat to the Whipbird's .*Western Whipbird-R.A.O.U. Checklist existence for, as shown in Western Aus (second edition). tralia, ·it quickly disappears from localities Mallee Whipbird-Howe and Ross (1933). where the environment has been interfered Mallee Black-throated Whipbird-McGilp with by Man. It cannot adapt itself to a and Parsons (1939). man-made setting; it requires dense under Rain-Bird':MilIigan (1901). growth and is probably exclusively insecti . Tar-ding-Western Australian natives at vorous ; it is a slow breeder, laying only two King George's Sound (Milligan 1901). eggs; it nests near the ground and is, there *Preferred name. fore, vulnerable to attacks of introduced pre- THE S.A. ORNITHOLOGIST 91
dators, such as dogs, cats and even rats; and ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 'finally, its survival in small, isolated pockets The writer is indebted to Dr. D. L. Serventy and Mr. J. Disney, Australian Museum, Sydney, of relatively "poor" country must be attri for the loan of study skins. buted solely to the remoteness of the areas in conjunction with human preoccupation in REFERENCES other, more easily exploited environments. Beecher, W. J., 1953-A Phylogeny of the Oscines. Auk 70:270-337. In Western Australia, Dr. Serventy tells Crawford, A. R., 1965-The Geology of Yorke me that the species is now found only in the Peninsula. Government Printer, Adelaide. Gnowangerup district of the South-west in Deignan, H. G., 1964-In Checklist of Birds of terior and along the coast at Two People the World, vol. X. Museum of Comparative Bay, east of Albany. Zoology, Cambridge, Mass. Delacour, J., 1964-Rail-babbler in A New The birds are probably extinct in the Dictionary of Birds. Nelson, London. Murray Mallee of Victoria and South Aus Eichler, H., 1965-Supplement to J. M. Black's tralia; and the same may apply to the mys Flora of South Australia. Government Printer, terious population reported by Mr. F. E. Adelaide. Parsons on Eyre Peninsula in the year 1937. Gould, J., 1865-Handbook of the Birds of Aus At present, it is impossible to estimate the tralia. London. size of the colony or colonies on Southern Howe, F. E. and J. A. Ross, 1933-0n the Occur Yorke Peninsula. Perhaps, at most, there rence of Psophodes nigrogularis in Victoria. Emu 32 :188-148. may be a few hundred individuals in the Keast, A. J., 1958-The genus Psophodes, etc. area. On the other hand, it is equally Emu 58:247-255. likely that distribution is by no means uni form throughout the sand dunes and that the Lindgren, E., 1958-W. Austr. Nat., 6:156. actual number of birds may be quite low. . Mathews, G. M., 1946-A Working List of Aus tralia Birds. Shepherd and Newman, Sydney. The chances of survival for the Western Mayr, E. and D. Amadon, 1951-A Classification Whipbird on Yorke Peninsula are dubious. of Recent Birds. Amer. Mus. Nouit, No. 1496. Under recent legislation by the State Govern Mayr, E. and J. C. Greenway, Jr., 1956-Sequence ment, it has been declared a "rare species," of Passerine Families (Aves). Breviora No. of which there are now 22 birds and 20 58. mammals. All these animals are totally pro McGill, A. R., 1965-W. Austr. Nat., 9:172. tected at all times and severe penalties may McGilp, J.. N. and F. E. Parsons, 1939-The be imposed on any person molesting them in MalIee Whip-bird. South A ustr. Om. 15: any way; also no permits to "take" or kill 19-25. these animals will be issued. However, no Milligan, A. W., 1902-Emu 2 :71. reference to the preservation of habitats of Ridgway, R., 1912-Color Standards and Color rare species is made in the Act and this could Nomenclature. Washington, D.C. constitute a threat to the continued existence Serventy, D. L. and H. M. Whittell, 1962-Birds of Western Australia. 2nd ed, Paterson Bro of many forms, including the Western Whip kensha, Perth. bird. Furthermore, increased leisure and the Specht, R. L., 1961-Flora Conservation in South popularity of outdoor recreation has caused a Australia. Trans. Roy. Soc. South Austr. 85: growing: number of people to visit the neigh 177-196. bourhood of Pondalowie Bay. Webster, H. 0., 1966-Western ~hipbird at Two The mere presence of hordes of uncon People Bay. W. Austr. Nat. in press. trolled, campers, holiday-makers and other Whitworth, R. P., 1866-South Australian Gazeteer "outdoor enthusiasts," including shooters, and Road Guide. Bailliere, Adelaide. Wood, J. G., 1930-An Analysis of the Vegetation might be sufficient cause to bring about the of Kangaroo Island and the adjacent penin sudden disappearance of this shy and' elusive sulas. Trans. Roy. Soc. South Austr. 54: species from the locality in the very near 105-139. future. Manuscript received 28-1-66. ~ It-:> TABLE 1 MEASUREMENTS
Locality Sex culmen wing tail tarsus Collection Pondalowie Bay, S,A. M 20 82 119 24 type of pondalowiensis SAM Manya, Victoria F 21 85 119 26 NMV type of leucogaster Pondalowie Bay ? 20 80 115 (worn) 23 _ Soft parts as for type Murray Mallee Mhr. 20 85 123 ' 26 SAM I~ Murray Mallee F hr. 20 83 123 26 SAM Il"'j Perth, W.A. M 20 82 116 25 NMV I~ Cape Mentelle, W.A. M - 80 117 27 WAM 0 ~ Gnowangerup, W.A. M hr. 20 84 129 26 SjW colI. H ::r:.>-,l Gnowangerup, W.A. M hr. 20 84 . 128 (worn) 27 SjW coll. 0 t"' 0 King George's Sound, W.A. M 20 81 117 25 AM Q H U> King George's Sound, W.A. F 20 80 110 25 AM >-,l King George's Sound, W.A. F 20 78 116 26 AM King George's Sound, W.A. F 20 81 - 26 AM King George's Sound, W.A. M 20 78 110+ 26 AM King George's S~>und, W.A. F imm. - 80 120 26 AM W.A. M 20 85 120 26 AM
Key: SAM=South Australian Museum; NMV=NationaI Museum, Melbourne; AM=AustraIian Museum; SjW coII._Serventy-Whittell colI.