Female grayish, paler under the tail (as opposed to yellow in Golden Whistler), with much shorter bill than Gray Shrikethrush.
VIC: Vulnerable; WA: Rare
Endemic to Australia
At a glance
FamilyWhistlers and Allies
SizeSmall
RarityCommon
HabitatDry woodland, mallee, and bushland across semi-arid southern Australia.
Best timeMost reliable in Victoria from September to November.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Zebedee Muller
Range map
Range map
200approx hotspots
14246approx records
3states
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
Chunky gray songbird with heavy black bill, found in dry forest and bushland across semi-arid southern Australia.
Behavior
Chunky gray songbird with heavy black bill, found in dry forest and bushland across semi-arid southern Australia.
Gallery
Regional timing
New South Wales
Western Australia
South Australia
Victoria
Australian Capital Territory
Commonly confused with
Olive WhistlerPachycephala olivaceaHeavily built brownish songbird found in dense wet forests of southeastern Australia and Tasmania. Gray head and white throat contrast with greenish back; pale gray breast band separates white throat from rich olive-brown belly. Much larger than Golden Whistler (which has a yellow undertail area, less distinct throat patch).→Red-lored WhistlerPachycephala rufogularisChunky gray songbird with a heavy black bill found in dry forest and bushland in parts of semi-arid southern Australia. Female similar, but plumage tones more muted and paler. Compare Gilbert’s Whistler, which is darker in front of the eye, and the orange chin does not extend above the bill.→Golden WhistlerPachycephala pectoralisFemales vary across range, with eastern birds having some amount of yellow on the underparts and western birds (formerly treated as full species, “Western Whistler”) being gray-brown above and pale below, lacking yellow. Olive Whistler much browner below, with well-defined whitish bib. Inhabits a great variety of habitats.→