White-browed Scrubwrens

Photo: Dominic Sherony https:// www.flickr.com/photos/9765210@ N03/31032175860.

By Carol Hopkins

If you are out walking in the bush, particularly where there is a dense cover of ferns, bracken grasses or shrubs, you may well hear rapid, harsh, buzzing sounds coming from the undergrowth. Chances are you are hearing the calls of the whitebrowed scrubwren. Their repetitive ‘tzzt, tzzt’ calls always make them sound a bit crotchety and, while this is their normal call, they can really ramp it up if threats such as humans, snakes or other birds are in their territory. This small, brown bird is relatively common and widespread. It can be found in all states except the Northern Territory, although populations are concentrated along the eastern and southern seaboards of the other states. You can find them at sea level and above the snow line in habitats that range from woodlands and rainforest to heaths and salt marshes. Nonetheless, to keep the scrubwrens happy, there has to be one critical feature in place: dense undergrowth, for this is where the birds spend most of their time. They have also been known to venture into urban parks and gardens, providing there is plenty of thick understory. Residents of the Murrindindi Shire have observed them hopping around the bushes in their gardens, taking dips in their birdbaths, building nests in their pot-plants and even coming in through an open window to inspect their bathroom! However, out in the bush, they can be quite difficult to see and often you will only know of their presence from their calls. Even when you do see them, they can be hard to

White-browed Scrubwren (Sericornis frontalis).

Photo: Patrick Kavanagh. https://www.flickr.com/photos/ patrick_k59/28475865400

distinguish from other small, brown birds. One of their characteristic features is, as their name suggests, a white line above the eye. There is another, fainter white line beneath the eye and two short, white bars on the edge of the wings. You might also be able to see a rufous tinge around the rump. Males and females are similar in appearance, although females tend to be duller.

White-browed scrubwrens are busy little birds. Their high metabolic rate means they have to constantly forage for food. They do this by searching for insects in the leaf litter of the forest floor or in low, dense shrubbery. They feed in pairs, or small parties, and tend to remain in the same territory all their lives. White-browed scrubwrens breed between July and December and usually lay a clutch of two or three eggs. Their nests are built close to the ground in thick vegetation. The dome-shaped nests are constructed out of plant material such as grasses and leaves and have an opening on the side leading to a chamber lined with feathers. Because they are cooperative breeders, all members of the group help to raise the young. So, when you are next out walking in the bush, keep an ear out for some crotchety buzzing from the undergrowth. You never know, you just might be in the presence of white-browed scrubwrens.