The Brown Thornbill, Acanthiza pusilla, is closely related to the Superb Fairy-wren. But, in contrast, it is a very plain bird. Nonetheless, it is interesting in its own right. It lives in Tasmania and the eastern and southeastern Australia.
These birds tend to form flocks that move through the foliage in search of small insects. Their nest is interesting in that it is a complete globe and has one room for raising the young. There is another room in the nest that nobody has discovered the purpose of.
Classification:
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Acanthizidae
Genus: Acanthiza
Species: A. pusilla
Photos:
Brown Thornbill
"Seen on the Pambula track."
Brown Thornbill
"These tiny, active birds are usually surrounded by foliage. I finally got one briefly on a fairly open perch. One day, I might get better lighting as well."
Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla)
"Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla). Wamboin, NSW, Australia. Feeding young in a nest in our back yard."
Brown Thornbill
"Boy was I glad to capture a couple of these birds, it made me remember that I could take sharp images of little feathery animals. (Confidence deeply affected by my experience with the non-working/non-sharp 40D’s) Brown Thornbills are the photographer’s friend! Similar to Striated Thornbills, these little guys are sometimes very curious. They will fly close to you then pose like this, with one eye cocked at you for examination, staying there long enough for you to recover composure and get several shots. Brown Thornbills are solitary birds and you usually only see one or at most two at a time; Striated Thornbills on the other hand go around in packs. Compare with a Striated Thornbill doing the same confiding thing. Now that I look I realise these two species must just about be my most photographed bird … here they are… - Brown looking quizzical - Brown showing its underarms and body nicely - Brown about to take off - Brown examining the photographer again - Striated in typical intent peering mode - Two Striateds caught hiding inside a bush on a stinking hot day"
Video:
Commentary:
brown thornbill. The late Herb Guyatt after whom the lake is named was a champion of the wetlands, I’m sure he would have been rapt if he could have seen the variety of birds that can be observed at this small man made lake in the heart … Read more…
Scarlet Robin - Petroica multicolor | Birds of the World
We encountered two, big feeding parties along the way including Eastern Yellow Robin, Scarlet Robin, Spotted Pardalote (Yellow-rumped form), Brown Thornbill, Grey Fantail, White-throated Treecreeper and my first encounters with … … Read more…
one bird i’ve been targeting for the last few weeks is the brown thornbill. at only 100mm head to tail and constantly on the move they have proven rather difficult to photograph. they also spend a lot of time right in among the foliage, … Read more…
finally, two better pictures of the brown thornbill. the first one gives a bit of a context and scale. it is soo small! brown thornbill, tasmania. click on a photo to view hi-res image :: click on a label to open all related posts. Read more…
we were soon greeted by whistling kite, wedge tail eagle, brown thornbill and grey fantail. a shingle back lizard sunbaked close to evidence of feral animals. the skull of a feral pig caught our attention, as too did the remains of … Read more…
victoria and a swag of new birds
brown thornbill (acanthiza pusilla) - another newie from the botanic gardens. striated thornbill (acanthiza lineata) - i came to the conclusion that these tiny little brown birds are insane. i always saw them romping in the snow, … Read more…
