Chestnut Quailthrush (Cinclosoma castanotum)

Conservation status

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Northern Territory, Territory Parks and Wildlife Conservation Act 1976: Near threatened.

Identification

The supplied documents confirm the species identity and habitat association, but do not provide a field description, body measurements, weight, call description or diagnostic plumage details.

Cinclosoma castanotum is a quailthrush in the family Cinclosomatidae. It is a ground-associated passerine recorded from arid and semi-arid habitats, particularly low shrubs and undergrowth in mallee scrub.

Species: Cinclosoma castanotum

Recommended band: Size 05, AY

Identification: Size and field recognition

The supplied sources do not give adult length, mass, wing measurements, plumage description, sexual differences or age-related features. The size 05 recommendation in the ABBBS list is a banding specification, not a body-size measurement.

• Do not use the band size as a substitute for a measured body size.
• Have an experienced ornithologist confirm records that are based only on brief views, photographs or calls.

Identification: Similar species and field signs

The documents identify Spotted Quail-thrush, Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush and Cinnamon Quail-thrush as related Cinclosoma species, but do not provide field characters that separate them. They also do not describe tracks, scats, calls, nests, eggs or other field signs for Chestnut Quailthrush.

• Treat an unconfirmed quailthrush observation as uncertain where more than one Cinclosoma species could occur.
• Record photographs, exact habitat, location, behaviour and any vocalisation for verification.
• Do not rely on tracks, scats or nests for identification unless a suitably qualified observer has confirmed the sign.

Distribution: States and bioregions

The supplied material supports occurrence in southern Australian mallee and semi-arid habitats, including the Murray Darling Depression Bioregion. It does not provide a complete national distribution map, population estimate, trend assessment or defined stronghold boundaries.

The supplied listing identifies New South Wales and the Northern Territory as states with conservation listings. The South Australian site assessment records the species as a possible or likely fauna species in mallee and chenopod vegetation, and identifies the Murray Darling Depression Bioregion as relevant to the site assessment.

States specifically identified in the supplied material: New South Wales, Northern Territory and South Australia

Bioregion specifically identified: Murray Darling Depression Bioregion

• In South Australia, check mallee and chenopod shrubland records in the Murray Darling Depression Bioregion before clearing.
• In New South Wales and the Northern Territory, apply the relevant state or territory survey and approval requirements where suitable habitat is present.

Distribution: Strongholds and population information

No strongholds, subpopulations, total population size, density, trend or home-range estimate is provided in the supplied documents. The South Australian assessment records the species as possible in suitable habitat near the project area rather than confirming a population at the site.

Population size: Not stated in the supplied documents

Population trend: Not stated in the supplied documents

Known strongholds: Not stated in the supplied documents

• Use current state databases, local records and targeted field surveys to establish whether a project area supports the species.
• Do not infer population absence from a desktop record search or from the absence of an observation during an unrelated fauna survey.

Habitat: Overall habitat

The species is associated with dry, open vegetation in arid and semi-arid parts of Australia. The strongest habitat information in the supplied material concerns dense or continuous low shrub and understorey cover within mallee and related dry vegetation.

Throughout its distribution, the Chestnut Quailthrush occurs in a wide range of arid and semi-arid habitats. It is mainly associated with low shrubs and undergrowth of mallee scrub, and also occurs in Acacia scrub, dry sclerophyll woodland, heath and native pine vegetation.

Climate zone: Arid and semi-arid

Primary habitat structure: Low shrubs and undergrowth

Other recorded habitats: Acacia scrub, dry sclerophyll woodland, heath and native pine

• Inspect intact or partly intact mallee scrub and low shrubland before clearing.
• Retain connected patches of low shrub and understorey where they occur beside roads, easements or construction footprints.

Habitat: Relevant vegetation communities

A South Australian project assessment identified the species as possible in Maireana brevifolia and Lepidium leptopetalum sparse low shrubland, and in Eucalyptus dumosa and Eucalyptus gracilis mallee over chenopod shrubs and native grasses. These vegetation associations occurred in or near a project area containing the Mallee Bird Community of the Murray Darling Depression Bioregion.

Example shrubland association: Maireana brevifolia and Lepidium leptopetalum sparse low shrubland

Example mallee association: Eucalyptus dumosa and Eucalyptus gracilis mallee over Lepidium leptopetalum, Dissocarpus paradoxa, Austrostipa elegantissima and Rytidosperma

• Check chenopod shrublands, sparse mallee and mallee understorey even where the canopy is open.
• Map the extent and condition of low shrub cover, not only the tree canopy, when assessing habitat loss.

Habitat: Elevation and structural limits

No elevation range, rainfall limit, shrub height, foliage-cover threshold or minimum patch size is provided. The supplied evidence indicates that low shrub and understorey structure is more informative than canopy cover alone.

• Record shrub height, foliage density, ground cover, patch area and connectivity during habitat assessments.
• Avoid treating sparse mallee as unsuitable without checking whether the low shrub layer remains intact.

Foraging habitat: Foraging structure

The supplied documents do not state the diet, food plants, prey, feeding distance or foraging range of the Chestnut Quailthrush. Its association with low shrubs and undergrowth supports a field focus on ground and near-ground habitat rather than canopy resources.

The species is mainly reported from low shrubs and undergrowth of mallee scrub, with records also associated with Acacia scrub, dry sclerophyll woodland, heath and native pine. The documents do not describe its feeding technique or the food items it takes.

Diet: Not stated in the supplied documents

Food plants or prey: Not stated in the supplied documents

Foraging range: Not stated in the supplied documents

• Assess the low shrub and ground-layer vegetation that will be removed or isolated by works.
• Retain undisturbed understorey beside access tracks and construction areas where practicable.
• Do not assume that open ground without low shrub cover provides equivalent foraging habitat.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

The supplied documents do not provide breeding season, nest location, clutch size, incubation period, fledging period, maturity or lifespan information. Breeding habitat requirements should therefore be confirmed from current species-specific references or local survey evidence before works commence.

No breeding observations or measurements are reported in the supplied documents. There is no supported basis here for assigning a breeding season or describing the nest, eggs, incubation or parental care.

Breeding season: Not stated

Clutch size: Not stated

Incubation period: Not stated

Age at maturity: Not stated

Lifespan: Not stated

• Treat suitable low shrub and mallee understorey as potentially important for breeding until a local assessment shows otherwise.
• Avoid clearing occupied or potentially occupied habitat during any locally identified breeding period.
• If a bird is flushed repeatedly from one small area, stop work nearby and have the area checked by a qualified ecologist.

Breeding habitat: Habitat to protect during breeding

The available habitat evidence points to low shrubs and undergrowth in mallee, Acacia scrub, dry sclerophyll woodland, heath and native pine. The documents do not identify a particular nest tree, hollow, burrow or minimum breeding-patch size.

• Protect intact low shrub patches and their immediate surrounds from vehicle movements, stockpiling and edge disturbance.
• Before clearing, inspect dense shrubs and ground cover for repeated adult activity, alarm behaviour or a concealed nest.

Sheltering habitat: Cover and refuges

No specific refuge, nest, roost, burrow, hollow or cover dimensions are given in the supplied documents. The species' documented use of low shrubs and undergrowth indicates that ground-level cover should be retained and checked before disturbance.

The Chestnut Quailthrush is mainly associated with low shrubs and undergrowth in mallee scrub. The documents do not describe its shelter sites, night roosts, nests or preferred shrub dimensions.

Known shelter type: Low shrubs and undergrowth are documented habitat features, but specific shelter use is not described

Refuge dimensions: Not stated

Hollows, burrows or dens: Not stated

• Retain low shrub clumps, leaf litter and connected understorey within and beside work areas where possible.
• Check shrubs and ground cover immediately before clearing, especially where birds are flushed repeatedly from the same patch.
• Do not clear habitat solely because it lacks large trees or hollows.

Threats: Clearing and fragmentation

The supplied documents identify habitat loss as the direct project issue because the species may occur in mallee, chenopod shrubland and other dry shrub habitats proposed for assessment or clearance. They do not provide a species-specific threat analysis for fragmentation, roads, fire, predators, disease or hydrology change.

Removal of mallee scrub, low shrubland or undergrowth can remove habitat identified as suitable for the species. Narrow road and infrastructure corridors can also divide remaining cover and increase edge disturbance.

• Avoid and minimise removal of low shrub and mallee understorey before considering offsets or rehabilitation.
• Keep retained habitat connected across road, pipeline and utility corridors where safe and practicable.
• Fence or mark retained habitat to prevent accidental vehicle access, storage and spoil placement.

Threats: Construction disturbance

The project assessment classified the species as possible in suitable habitat near the site. Clearing, machinery movement and repeated disturbance may affect birds using retained or adjacent shrub cover, although the supplied documents do not quantify disturbance distances.

• Complete a pre-clearance habitat inspection and fauna briefing before machinery enters shrubland or mallee.
• Use a qualified fauna spotter catcher where an animal is present, injured, trapped or repeatedly flushed.
• Do not apply an unverified exclusion distance as a species-specific rule; set controls with the project ecologist and approval conditions.

Threats: Fire, predators, disease and hydrology

The supplied documents do not identify species-specific effects of fire, introduced predators, disease or hydrology change. These issues should be considered where they alter the low shrub and understorey habitat on which the species is reported.

• Record recent fire history and the condition of the shrub layer during habitat surveys.
• Prevent construction waste, food scraps and other attractants that may increase predator activity around retained habitat.
• Refer suspected disease, injured birds or unusual mortality to the relevant wildlife authority or wildlife veterinarian.
• Assess drainage, inundation and dewatering works where they could change dry shrubland or mallee vegetation.

Survey methodology: 1. Habitat assessment and mapping

The Chestnut Quailthrush is a ground-associated bird of arid and semi-arid country. Target surveys at mallee scrub and other dense low vegetation, especially low shrubs and understorey, rather than relying on broad habitat mapping alone.

Map all mallee scrub, Acacia scrub, dry sclerophyll woodland, heath and native pine within and beside the disturbance footprint.

Record the structure and condition of low shrubs, ground cover, leaf litter and connected vegetation because the species is associated mainly with low shrubs and undergrowth.

Extend the assessment into adjacent retained vegetation because the project assessment identified suitable habitat nearby and did not confirm that the species used the impact area.

Recorded habitat: Mallee scrub, Acacia scrub, dry sclerophyll woodland, heath and native pine.

Banding reference: Recommended metal band size 05, with AY metal.

• Walk the proposed clearing boundary and mark patches of continuous shrub cover, dense understorey and movement links to retained vegetation.
• Record recent sightings, call detections, tracks and flushed birds with coordinates, date, time, observer and habitat description.
• Use the relevant state survey guideline to set the survey season, transect spacing, search area and repeat visits because the supplied documents do not specify species-specific survey effort.

Survey methodology: 2. Diurnal ground searches

Use quiet, systematic searches through suitable low vegetation during daylight, with greatest attention to shrub bases, leaf litter and dense undergrowth.

Pause regularly to listen for calls and watch for birds moving between shrubs or flushing from cover.

Search before clearing and repeat the search after vegetation has been disturbed, when birds may move into adjoining retained habitat.

• Walk parallel transects through each habitat patch and keep the route, search width and time spent consistent between visits.
• Approach slowly and avoid walking directly through the densest cover where this would reduce detection or cause unnecessary disturbance.
• Record a negative result as well as a detection, including the area searched, duration, weather, ground visibility and habitat condition.

Survey methodology: 3. Incidental observations and targeted checks

Use all site personnel as observers during pre-starts, vegetation marking and clearing, because a flushed or moving bird may be detected outside formal transects.

Target connected shrub patches, mallee edges and undisturbed understorey beside access tracks, stockpiles and work areas.

Do not treat the absence of a detection as proof that the species is absent where suitable habitat remains.

• Provide a photograph or field description to machinery operators and the fauna spotter catcher before work begins.
• Log every observation, including birds seen outside the impact area, and immediately notify the environmental officer of a possible sighting.
• Use call playback only if it is permitted by the relevant state authority and approved in the project survey plan, because no playback protocol is provided in the supplied documents.

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

• Set the minimum number of visits, search hours, transect length and survey season from the applicable state fauna survey guideline and the project approval conditions.
• Survey every suitable habitat patch within the clearing footprint and inspect connected retained habitat that may receive displaced birds.
• Record survey dates, start and finish times, observers, weather, visibility, methods, effort, habitat condition, detections and GPS locations.
• Submit confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database and provide records to the project environmental officer and approval authority where required.
• Report the species under the accepted name Cinclosoma castanotum and retain the common-name synonym used in project documents, Chestnut-backed Quailthrush, where relevant.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Plan the work around retaining connected shrub habitat and reducing the area cleared. Confirm the legal status and approval pathway for the state or territory in which the project occurs before vegetation is disturbed.

Redesign access tracks, compounds and clearing boundaries to retain mallee scrub, dense low shrub cover and understorey wherever practicable.

Retain links between habitat patches so birds can move through the site without crossing active work areas.

Keep disturbance away from adjoining shrub patches where they provide refuge for birds displaced by clearing.

• Avoid clearing intact mallee, Acacia scrub, dry sclerophyll woodland, heath and native pine where these areas can be retained.
• Keep retained vegetation free of parking, spoil, storage, vehicle turning and unnecessary slashing.
• Use the smallest practicable disturbance footprint and mark the approved limit of clearing before machinery enters the site.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and planning

Check the current EPBC Act listing before work starts and obtain advice on referral requirements if the species or its habitat is nationally listed at the time of assessment.

Check the state or territory threatened species listing, fauna handling rules, survey requirements and permit conditions for the project location.

The supplied material records the species as state threatened in project assessments, including a South Australian assessment that treats it as Rare, so do not rely on an EPBC Act check alone.

• Confirm whether a scientific, wildlife rehabilitation, relocation or fauna spotter catcher authorisation is required.
• Include the species in the construction environmental management plan and fauna management plan where suitable habitat is present.
• Stage clearing so the fauna spotter catcher can inspect each work area immediately before disturbance and respond to a detection without delaying safety controls.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

• Complete a pre-clearance search of all suitable low shrub and mallee habitat immediately before clearing.
• Mark retained vegetation, habitat links, no-go areas and any fauna refuge areas with durable bunting, fencing or signs.
• Install exclusion fencing where it can safely prevent machinery and people entering retained shrub patches.
• Remove or relocate stockpiles, waste, parked vehicles and temporary facilities that would block movement between retained habitat patches.
• Brief operators on the species identification, stop-work trigger, spotter catcher authority and incident reporting process.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls and machinery coordination

Use a staged clearing process with a fauna spotter catcher present during all vegetation disturbance in suitable habitat. The spotter catcher must have authority to pause work when a bird or other fauna is at risk.

• Hold a daily pre-start covering the approved clearing limit, retained habitat, planned sequence, weather, recent fauna records and the spotter catcher's contact method.
• Inspect the work area immediately before machinery starts and again after each stage of clearing.
• Keep machinery at walking speed when approaching dense shrub cover and stop on the spotter catcher's signal.
• Clear in short, defined stages towards retained vegetation where this provides a safe escape route and does not direct fauna towards roads, open excavations or machinery.
• Keep the spotter catcher between the advancing machinery and the vegetation being disturbed, without placing the person in an unsafe position.

During habitat disturbance: Fauna found during clearing

If a Chestnut Quailthrush is seen, stop the activity that could affect it and allow the bird time to move into retained habitat where safe.

Do not chase, corner or catch the bird unless capture is necessary to prevent immediate harm and the authorised fauna handler considers it safe.

The supplied documents do not provide species-specific handling or relocation instructions, so use the approved state fauna handling protocol and the project fauna management plan.

• Only an appropriately authorised person may capture, handle, transport or relocate the bird.
• Relocate a bird only to nearby retained habitat that is suitable, connected and outside the active work area, and record the release location.
• Place an injured bird in a secure, ventilated container and arrange prompt assessment by a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer.
• Do not provide food, water or medication unless directed by a veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer.
• Stop work and notify the environmental officer if the bird cannot move away safely, is injured, is repeatedly flushed into the work area or is found within the machinery operating zone.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat feature protection and records

• Protect retained low shrubs, leaf litter and understorey from vehicle entry, unnecessary slashing, fire and sediment deposition.
• Inspect logs, rocks, burrows and dense shrub bases before moving or disturbing them, and have the spotter catcher check any concealed fauna.
• Treat hollow-bearing trees, nest boxes and other fauna features under the project's approved fauna procedure even though the supplied documents do not identify them as species-specific features for this bird.
• Record each sighting, capture, relocation, injury, mortality, stop-work event, cleared area, date, time, location, habitat and action taken.
• Escalate any unexpected concentration of birds, repeated use of retained habitat or mortality to the environmental officer and approval authority where required.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance checks

Complete checks after each clearing stage and keep retained habitat protected for the duration of construction. Use the results to adjust controls where displaced birds continue to use adjoining vegetation.

Inspect the cleared area, adjoining retained shrub patches and access routes after machinery leaves each stage.

Look for injured or trapped birds in vegetation piles, along fences, beside excavations and around temporary infrastructure.

Confirm that no unapproved vegetation, habitat link or refuge area has been disturbed.

• Keep the fauna spotter catcher available for the period specified in the approved fauna management plan and state permit.
• Search vegetation piles and other material before removal, chipping or burning.
• Remove temporary hazards such as open pits, unsecured fencing and netting that could trap birds.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and corrective action

• Monitor retained mallee and shrub patches for new detections, signs of disturbance, weed invasion, fire damage and loss of ground cover.
• Repeat targeted diurnal searches if a bird was detected during clearing, relocated, injured or observed using retained habitat.
• Increase exclusion controls or pause nearby works if monitoring shows that birds are being repeatedly displaced into active work areas.
• Maintain fencing, no-go markers and vehicle controls until construction risk has ended and rehabilitation areas are stable.

After habitat disturbance: Reporting and offsets

• Submit a completion report that lists survey effort, records, clearing areas, fauna incidents, relocations, injuries, deaths, stop-work events and corrective actions.
• Provide confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database and report incidents to the approval authority where required.
• Assess offsets only where required by an approval, policy or residual-impact assessment, and ensure any offset protects suitable mallee or shrub habitat for this species.

Rehabilitation actions: Vegetation and ground cover

Rehabilitation should rebuild connected, low-growing native cover rather than creating an open grassed area. Use local provenance and site-suitable species based on the vegetation community that was cleared.

Restore mallee and shrub structure that provides low cover and understorey for a ground-associated quail-thrush.

The project vegetation records include Eucalyptus dumosa, Eucalyptus gracilis, Maireana brevifolia, Lepidium leptopetalum, Dissocarpus paradoxa, Carrichtera annua, Austrostipa and Rytidosperma species, but the final planting mix must match the local reference community.

• Replant cleared habitat with locally appropriate mallee, Acacia and chenopod shrubs where those forms occurred before disturbance.
• Retain natural leaf litter and coarse woody material where safe, and avoid replacing native understorey with a short, uniform lawn.
• Re-establish vegetation links between isolated retained patches and protect them from vehicle access during establishment.
• Use weed-free soil and control weeds before they suppress native shrub recruitment.

Rehabilitation actions: Habitat features and threats

• Retain or reinstate locally occurring logs, rocks and dense ground cover where these features are part of the pre-clearing habitat.
• Do not install hollows or nest boxes as a substitute for shrub and ground habitat unless another fauna requirement or approval condition identifies a need.
• Control introduced predators, pest animals and weeds in accordance with the approved site plan and local authority requirements.
• Manage fire using the applicable regional fire planning framework so that mature shrub cover and connected refuge areas are not repeatedly removed.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

• Inspect rehabilitation after establishment, after major rainfall and after fire to check survival, native cover, weed cover, erosion and connectivity.
• Use the pre-clearing vegetation community as the reference for species composition, shrub density, ground cover and structure.
• Repeat standardised diurnal searches in rehabilitated and retained habitat using the same routes and recording fields where practical.
• Treat rehabilitation as successful only when native shrub and understorey cover is established, access controls remain effective, weeds and predators are controlled, and the site can support the habitat structure recorded before clearing.

Sources

• ABBBS Recommended Band Size List, Australian Government DCCEEW: https://www.dcceew.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/band-size-list-may-2018.pdf
• app004852018, app.pan.pl: https://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app63/app004852018.html
• EX200512_SturtHW_Site4_OTL_VegDataReport_MottMac_Final_20220429, South Australian Government: https://cdn.environment.sa.gov.au/environment/docs/EX200512_SturtHW_Site4_OTL_VegDataReport_MottMac_Final_20220504.pdf