Black-tailed Whistler — Australian Bird Identification Guide

Bird guideBlack-tailed Whistler

Chunky, rounded songbird with heavy thick bill.

⚠️Not listed

At a glance

FamilyWhistlers and Allies

SizeSmall

RarityUncommon

HabitatFound across a wide range of habitats across its range: largely mangroves in Australia, but also inhabits freshwater swamps in New Guinea and forests and forest edge on smaller islands.

Best timeMost reliable in Western Australia from May to October.

Sounds

Sound sample

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Recorded by Jan-Uwe Schmidt

Range map

Occurrence window

200approx hotspots

3977approx records

4states

Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence

Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.

Species notes

Overview

Male has an olive-yellow back, black head, white chin, bright yellow underparts, and thick yellow hindcollar. Female plain gray above, paler gray below, with yellow undertail and in some subspecies a yellow belly. Vocalizations include variations on whistled songs, sometimes with a whip-like ending.

Behavior

Overlaps very marginally with the very similar Golden Whistler in eastern Queensland, but note mangrove habitat as well as slightly longer bill and darker uppertail; also note significant yellow on underparts in female and different song.

Gallery