The White-browed Scrubwren is a small, drab bird which inhabits the dense undergrowth in many different habitats. The male has a blackish mask; cream eye; white eyebrow and bold curving silver-white whisker-mark; rufous rump; and a variable dark tail band. The female is duller and her whisker-mark is browner.
Distinctive feature
White-brow and curving silvery whisker-mark.
Size
36 – 44 cm long (from head to tail), with an average wing span of 76 cm
Behaviour
Call
Clear, sustained 'steer-steer-tseer', or 'seat-you', 'seat-you'; deep zizzing scolding at intruders, cuckoos and snakes.
Diet
Mostly insects and other small spiders and mites. Occasionally, they eat seeds.
Breeding
The nest is made of a large ball of grasses and leaves with a side tunnel leading to a cup lined with feathers; located on or near the ground, in thick vegetation, but could be in a tree fork a few metres high. The eggs are pale blue to pale purple and are spotted with brown at the base.
Field Guide
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