Birda Logo
Features
Birda+
About
Species Guide
Challenges
Shop
loading...
A photo of a Gilbert's Whistler (Pachycephala inornata), male
Gilbert's Whistler, Male

Gilbert's Whistler

Pachycephala inornata

The Gilbert's whistler (Pachycephala inornata) is a monotypic species, a unique representative of its kind, endemic to the arid landscapes of Australia. It is a member of the Pachycephalidae family, known colloquially as 'thickheads' due to their robust cranial features. The species exhibits a rather unadorned plumage, which is reflected in its scientific name, with 'inornata' translating to 'plain' from Latin.

Identification Tips

Adult males of the species are distinguished by their rufous chin and throat, which they acquire in their third year. Their lores are a striking black, contrasting with the red-lored whistler's red lores. Females are more demure in appearance, with a pale grey throat and a distinctive white eye-ring. Both sexes share a uniform brownish-grey coloration, a red iris, and a black, stubby bill. Juveniles and immatures resemble the adult females but can be identified by their brown bill and dark brown iris. Observers should be cautious not to confuse the female and immature Gilbert's whistlers with the female golden or western whistlers in overlapping territories.

Habitat

The Gilbert's whistler favors semi-arid tall mallee with sparse shrubby understorey, prickly Acacia thickets, Casuarina woodlands, and occasionally ventures into taller eucalypt woodlands or forests.

Distribution

This species is scattered across the semi-arid regions of southern Western Australia, South Australia, northwest Victoria, and central west New South Wales. It is a resident bird, showing high site fidelity and little large-scale movement.

Behaviour

The Gilbert's whistler is a ground feeder, foraging primarily on invertebrates, with occasional fruit and seeds supplementing its diet. It is known for its sedentary nature and sensitivity to habitat disturbance.

Song & Calls

The Gilbert's whistler is a vocal bird, more often heard than seen. Its song is a melodious series of swelling 'cheop' notes, repeated multiple times. It also produces an ascending call similar to the rufous whistler and a scratchy 'eechowk' call.

Breeding

Both sexes participate in building a deep cup nest within dense shrubs, sometimes atop old babbler nests. They incubate a clutch of two to four eggs for about 15 days and care for the altricial, nidicolous young.

Similar Species

The Gilbert's whistler can be confused with the red-lored whistler, but the latter has red lores. Female and immature Gilbert's whistlers may be mistaken for female golden or western whistlers.

Diet and Feeding

The diet of the Gilbert's whistler consists mainly of invertebrates, with occasional fruit and seeds. They forage on the ground and in understorey layers.

Conservation status

The Gilbert's whistler is listed as 'Least Concern' by the IUCN. However, it is considered 'Vulnerable' in New South Wales due to a decline in population size and distribution. Conservation efforts include habitat restoration, weed removal, and public awareness campaigns.

App logo
Birda is a birdwatching app and community aimed at curious people who want to deepen their connection with nature.

Gilbert's Whistlers on Birda

Sightings
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Kevin Huang
Kevin Huang
06 Oct 2024 - 8:14pm
Australia

More Whistlers & Allies

Birda Logo

Your birdwatching journey like never before

Connect with nature in minutes
Take a walk, look out of the window and log the birds that you see. Feel good about those little connections to nature.
Discover the joy of birding
Find new birding spots, see more birds, share and celebrate with a like-minded community of nature lovers.
Play your part in saving nature
Logging your birding sightings and sessions turns into positive action for our planet. Every sighting counts.

Birda Blog

What Our Birders Say
Hip An
Fantastic
Really enjoying Birda where I live i have a lot of Red kites really hard to photograph but I can video are you planning some place on the app where us Birda can post vids🦉🦅
JCBirding
Just what birding needs
We need more fun in birding, for years it has had a reputation for being up tight and stuffy and only perused by retirees and anoraks. Birda helps change that perception and firmly brings birding into the 21st century! Fun, interactive while still contributing to science and conservation. If you aren’t on it, why not??
Louise L
Easy to use and accurate
Love this app. It is easy to use and accurate, Their backup communication is really good. I noted a missing species. All through the process, I was kept informed about the progress in correcting the information. I now have the corrected, updated version. 😁 Thanks!
EandB17
Terrific App for Birders
Downloaded Birda around the time my interest in birding was sparked, and it has been a terrific app to help me (1) share my experience, (2) document my sightings, and (3) learn more about birds in general. That said, I also believe Birda is a fantastic app for birders of all experience levels. Great community!
Nedz53
Really useful
Downloaded to give it a try, everything worked perfectly, recorded my first bird watching walk. Very impressed. Have already recommended to friends!
Foxgirl100
Great app for beginner twitchers
I’ve had a passion of photographing birds for a long time now but have only just gotten into proper birdwatching, and this app is brilliant for those just getting started. There is a great sense of community among users and the app is very easy to use and professional. Awesome app altogether
Chudbond
Love Birda
I love this app. It really encourages you to log your sightings and the community is friendly and helpful.
Dunners12345
Great App
Great app to use for logging and communicating with others who are interested in birds
Emcil24
A Friendly Place
I love using the bird app, I have a pretty good knowledge of birds. But I do have some gaps in it, so it’s nice to have a safe space to check on a sighting to confirm the species. It’s really enjoyable and I love the badges you can collect. It’s like a real life Pokémon go.
Jane N
A great app
Enjoying it immensely and finding it useful too. Recording the different birds and counting them is showing me how the present climate is affecting them all. I've trebled the numbers by planting native hedging. A great app.
As featured in
Birda Logo
AboutPressAmbassadorsAffiliatesInfluencersCareersPrivacyTerms & Conditions
An app for birdwatchers
Connect with us
Copyright © 2024 Chirp Birding. All rights reserved.