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A photo of a Eastern Whipbird (Psophodes olivaceus)
Eastern Whipbird

Eastern Whipbird

Psophodes olivaceus

The eastern whipbird (Psophodes olivaceus) is an insectivorous passerine bird native to the east coast of Australia. Its whip-crack song is a familiar sound in forests of eastern Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Heard much more often than seen, it is dark olive-green and black in colour with a distinctive white cheek patch and a crest. The male and female are similar in plumage. It has a small black crest with a white cheek-patch on its face. It has a paler abdomen with a long dark olive-green tail tipped with white. The iris is brown and bill is black with blackish feet. The male is slightly larger than the female. Juveniles are a duller olive-brown and lack the white cheek stripes and dark throat. The eastern whipbird is generally shy, and is heard much more often than seen. Its long drawn out call - a long note, followed by a "whip crack" (which is the source of the common name) and some follow on notes - is one of the most distinctive sounds of the eastern Australian bush. The call is usually a duet between the male and female, the male producing the long note and whip crack and female the following notes. Calls are most frequent in the early morning, though do occur through the day with small peaks at noon and sunset.
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Eastern Whipbirds on Birda

Photos

Sightings

A map showing the sighting location
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Emma Cann
Sunday 01 Oct 2023 - 9:55am
Australia
A photo of a Eastern Whipbird photographed in O'Reilly's Rainforest Retreat--Boardwalk Treetop Walk circuit Australia
Profile picture for Matthew Jacobs
Matthew Jacobs
Sunday 24 Sep 2023 - 2:52am
Australia
A map showing the sighting location
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Kylie J
Sunday 24 Sep 2023 - 12:19am
Australia
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Kylie J
Kylie J
Thursday 14 Sep 2023 - 4:21am
Australia

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