17

Striated Thornbill

(Acanthiza lineata)
Alternative name: "Striated Tit"
Size: 10 cm

Habitat
(for details refer to a field guide)

The four races of Striated Thornbills populate the eastern and south-eastern coastal fringe and some of the south-eastern inland of Australia. Race "alberti" is found from about the tropic of Capricorn in QLD to the Manning River in NSW. Nominate race "lineata" lives further south, from the Manning River to about Bairnsdale, VIC. Especially race "lineata" can extend its range further inland to include the upper Murray River catchment. To the west of Bairnsdale one finds race "clelandi" along the south coast, up to about Adelaide. Race "whitei" is found only on Kangaroo Island, SA.

Striated Thornbills can be found in the dense undergrowth of various types of forest.

Sightings

Our first sighting of a Striated Thornbills was in February 2006, in Jack's Creek State Forest, 25 km south of Narrabri, NSW. Another specimen was spotted near the glacial valley, Rocky Creek, about 50 km north-east of Narrabri.

Striated Thornbills were also spotted by us at Dorrigo National Park, northern NSW, in January 2011.

Photos

Near-frontal view of a Striated Thornbill in dense underbrush

Slightly different posture

Lateral view of a Striated Thornbill

Back and side of head of a Striated Thornbil

Food

To the best of our knowledge all Thornbills feed on little insects.

These pages are largely based on our own observations. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.