Olive whistler
The olive whistler or olivaceous whistler, is a species of bird in the family Pachycephalidae, the whistlers, that is native to southeastern Australia.
Taxonomy and systematics
Subspecies
Five subspecies are recognized:P. o. macphersoniana – White, HL, 1920: Found in eastern AustraliaP. o. olivacea – Vigors & Horsfield, 1827: Found in southeastern AustraliaP. o. bathychroa – Schodde & Mason, 1999: Found in southeastern AustraliaP. o. apatetes – Schodde & Mason, 1999: Found in Tasmania and islands in the Bass Strait, AustraliaP. o. hesperus – Schodde & Mason, 1999: Found in southern AustraliaDescription
Adult birds are around long, and have an overall olive brown plumage with a streaked white throat. To an untrained eye, they can be mistaken for female golden whistlers. The male has a dark grey head, pale grey breast and red-tinged buff belly and rump. The female lacks the red tinge, and has brown underparts. The legs, bill and eyes of both sexes are a brown-black. The melodious call has been likened to I'll wet you or you're cranky, and is possibly the most musical of all whistlers.Distribution and habitat
The olive whistler is found from the McPherson Range in far southeast Queensland south through New South Wales and into Victoria and southeastern South Australia, Flinders and King Islands and Tasmania.The habitat is mainly wet forest, and Antarctic beech (Nothofagus moorei) forest in northern New South Wales.