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Redthroat (Pyrrholaemus brunneus)

The Redthroat, Pyrrholaemus brunneus, is a small, mostly sedentary scrubwren of arid and semi-arid mainland Australia. It uses dense Acacia, chenopod, mallee and related shrub communities, so clearing, thinning of understorey and grazing can remove both feeding habitat and low nesting cover on development sites.

Conservation status

New South Wales, Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016: Vulnerable.

Victoria, Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988: Endangered.

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

Breeding season

Timing varies across the broad mainland range. The calendar below combines the June to December breeding period reported for the species with the August to November period reported for the Northern Territory.

Month values are January to December: 0 means not typical, 1 means occurs, and 2 means peak. Regional timing may differ across the species' broad range.

  • Breeding: Breeding is reported from June to December, with August to November specified for the Northern Territory.
  • Laying and incubation: Clutches contain two to four chocolate-brown eggs. The female incubates alone; the incubation period is not stated.
  • Young: Dependent young are expected during the documented breeding period, but the duration of nestling and post-fledging dependence is not stated.
  • Highest clearing risk: Clearing or heavy disturbance is most likely to harm the species from June to December because nests, eggs and dependent young may be present. Risk is expected to be highest from August to November in the Northern Territory.

Identification

The Redthroat is small, elusive and generally associated with dense, low vegetation. It is often detected by movement or song before it is seen.

Adults are greyish-brown above and pale grey below, with pale buff flanks and undertail-coverts. The rump and tail are darker, and the outer tail feathers have white tips that are conspicuous in flight or when the tail is folded.

Adult males have a small rusty-brown to rufous throat patch. Females and juveniles lack this patch and have a pale off-white or cream throat. Both sexes have fine off-white scalloping on the forehead, pale eye rings and pale lores.

Body length: 11 to 12 cm

Sexual difference: Male with a rusty-brown throat patch; female and juvenile without it

Identification: Similar small birds

Compared with thornbills, the Redthroat has a longer tail and a less compact body. Compared with fieldwrens and heathwrens, its tail is less upturned. These differences are useful when a bird is moving quickly through low shrubs.

Identification: Field signs and calls

The species moves swiftly through low branches and makes mouse-like hops on the ground. Its call is a sustained warble with cheerful notes, described as canary-like. It can mimic other birds and the whistling wingbeats of the Crested Pigeon.

Males sing more during the breeding season, and birds may call while foraging or perched on vegetation. Nests are large, domed structures with a round entrance, placed on or near the ground and lined with soft material.

  • Inspect dense low shrub cover and the ground beneath it for brief hopping movements and rapid movement through the lower branches.
  • Treat a domed nest with a round entrance in low shrubs, spinifex or near-ground vegetation as a possible Redthroat nest and avoid disturbance until it has been assessed by an appropriately qualified person.

Distribution: National range

The Redthroat is endemic to mainland Australia and occupies a broad inland range. Records and descriptions in the supplied documents place it mainly in arid and semi-arid country, with scattered populations towards the margins of the range.

The species occurs in all Australian states and territories except the Australian Capital Territory and Tasmania. Its core range extends across the arid lands from Western Australia to the Great Dividing Range.

It occurs through most of Western Australia and South Australia, the southern Northern Territory, inland south-western Queensland, the western third of New South Wales and the mallee region of north-western Victoria. The detailed range description excludes the south-west and Kimberley of Western Australia, much of the Nullarbor, and several areas of South Australia.

Distribution: Strongholds and local records

The Great Western Woodlands is identified as an important stronghold, where recent survey records found Redthroats in each of the nine survey areas. Records included birds near Credo, Helena and the Aurora Range, and Fraser Range.

In the Northern Territory assessment area, one record occurred within the lease and five additional records occurred within a 20 km buffer. The assessment described the species as widespread and not uncommon in that area.

Great Western Woodlands survey areas with recent records: Nine out of nine

Movement distance from banding site: Recaptured individuals were within 10 km

Distribution: Population trend and status

A national population estimate is not provided. Populations are reported to be decreasing in some parts of the range, while the species remains widespread overall.

The supplied project information lists the Redthroat as Vulnerable in New South Wales, Endangered in Victoria and Near Threatened in the Northern Territory. The Northern Territory assessment also records a high likelihood of occurrence at the assessed lease.

National population size: Not stated in the supplied documents

Reported trend: Declining in some parts of the range

Northern Territory assessment: Near Threatened; high likelihood of occurrence at the assessed lease

Habitat: Vegetation communities

Redthroats use arid and semi-arid shrub habitats with a dense, structurally complex understorey. Retaining connected patches of low shrubs and chenopods is more relevant to this species than retaining isolated mature trees alone.

Recorded or described habitats include Acacia shrublands with chenopods, including mulga, saltbush and bluebush. The species also occurs in eucalypt woodland over Acacia shrubland, dense mallee near granite outcrops, drainage lines and paperbark thickets.

The Northern Territory assessment also identifies inland scrub with mulga and other Acacias, mallee with spinifex, eucalypt regrowth, tea-tree, saltbush and bluebush.

Habitat: Structure and site conditions

Important structural features are dense low shrubs, low branches, spinifex or chenopod cover, and retained patches of understorey beneath or beside woodland. The species is associated with arid and semi-arid plains, rangelands and shrublands, and can occur in coastal areas.

No elevation limit is given in the supplied documents. The available information supports an association with dry inland climates and vegetation that provides continuous low cover.

  • Map and retain dense shrub patches, mallee understorey, chenopod stands and drainage-line thickets before clearing.
  • Avoid treating sparse tree cover as suitable habitat where the low shrub and ground layer has been removed or heavily grazed.

Foraging habitat: Food

The Redthroat feeds mostly close to the ground and within the lower shrub layer. Foraging habitat depends on intact low vegetation and the leaf litter, stems and ground surfaces that support invertebrate prey.

The diet is omnivorous but is mainly made up of invertebrates. Beetles and ants are specifically reported, with seeds taken occasionally.

Acacia and chenopod communities, including mulga, saltbush and bluebush, provide the main vegetation context for foraging. The supplied documents do not identify particular plant species as confirmed seed foods.

Main food: Invertebrates, especially beetles and ants

Additional food: Seeds, taken occasionally

Foraging habitat: Foraging method and height

The Redthroat forages predominantly below 1 m, using pouncing and gleaning from low vegetation. It moves quickly through low branches and also hops across the ground in a mouse-like manner.

Typical foraging height: Below 1 m

  • Survey the shrub layer and ground surface as well as open areas beneath shrubs, rather than relying only on canopy searches.
  • Retain low branches, dense shrub stems and ground cover where possible, because these features provide both foraging surfaces and access to prey.

Breeding habitat: Breeding biology

Redthroats breed in pairs and place their nests in low, dense cover. Clearing during the breeding period can remove nests directly and expose eggs or young to heat, predators and further disturbance.

Breeding occurs from June to December, with regional variation. The Northern Territory assessment gives August to November as the breeding period. The female incubates the eggs alone.

The supplied documents do not state age at maturity, lifespan, or a separate fledging period.

Breeding season: June to December; August to November reported for the Northern Territory

Clutch size: Two to four eggs

Egg description: Chocolate-brown eggs

Incubation: Female incubates alone; incubation duration is not stated

Age at maturity: Not stated in the supplied documents

Lifespan: Not stated in the supplied documents

Breeding habitat: Nesting habitat

Nests are large and domed, with a round entrance and a lining of soft material. They are placed on or near the ground, in low shrubs or spinifex, and occasionally in tree hollows.

Suitable breeding habitat therefore includes dense low shrubs, spinifex and other near-ground cover that conceals the nest and provides access to the lower foraging layer.

  • Before clearing, inspect dense shrubs, spinifex and vegetation within the lower metre for domed nests with round entrances.
  • Protect retained shrub patches and avoid stockpiling materials or driving machinery across low vegetation during the breeding period.

Sheltering habitat: Cover used for shelter

The supplied documents do not describe a separate roost, burrow or den. Shelter and nesting cover are closely linked to dense low vegetation and near-ground structure.

Redthroats use complex understorey in Acacia and chenopod shrublands, mallee, spinifex, tea-tree, saltbush, bluebush and eucalypt regrowth. Dense vegetation along drainage lines and in paperbark thickets may also provide cover.

The species moves through low branches and on the ground, so removal of the lower shrub layer is likely to reduce shelter even where taller trees remain.

  • Retain continuous low shrub cover, spinifex clumps, chenopods and mallee understorey around work areas.
  • Avoid unnecessary removal of fallen or low vegetation until fauna searches and any required management measures are complete.

Sheltering habitat: Nests and hollows

Breeding nests are domed, have a round entrance and are placed on or near the ground. They may occur in low shrubs or spinifex and, less often, in tree hollows.

The documents do not provide nest dimensions, hollow dimensions, roost dimensions or confirmed non-breeding roost sites.

  • Treat low domed nests and suitable low vegetation as sensitive until checked by a qualified fauna observer.
  • Retain trees with hollows where feasible, because occasional use of tree hollows for nesting is reported.

Threats: Clearing and habitat degradation

The main documented risks are loss and degradation of shrub habitat. Risks are highest where clearing removes dense understorey or where grazing and introduced predators reduce habitat quality and breeding success.

Vegetation clearing is identified as a cause of decline. Grazing can degrade habitat, including through loss or thinning of the shrub and chenopod understorey. Fragmentation is not discussed separately in the supplied documents, but clearing of connected shrub patches can remove feeding and nesting cover.

Development works should avoid unnecessary clearing of Acacia, chenopod, mallee, spinifex, tea-tree and drainage-line vegetation, particularly where dense low cover remains.

  • Complete targeted searches of dense low vegetation before clearing.
  • Set out exclusion areas around retained shrub patches, active nests and habitat along drainage lines.
  • Control construction traffic, laydown areas and weed disturbance so that retained understorey is not progressively thinned.

Threats: Grazing, weeds and predators

Overgrazing by feral herbivores and habitat degradation from grazing are documented threats. Invasive weeds can alter the understorey. In New South Wales, predation by introduced foxes and cats is identified as a suspected threat.

The supplied documents do not identify disease as a Redthroat threat. They also do not provide species-specific evidence for roads or hydrology change as direct threats.

  • Manage feral herbivore access where grazing is reducing low shrub or chenopod cover.
  • Prevent weed spread through vehicle and machinery hygiene and prompt rehabilitation of disturbed areas.
  • Limit food and shelter for feral cats and foxes around retained habitat in accordance with the project's pest management requirements.

Threats: Fire and construction disturbance

The documents record Redthroats in areas affected by recent bushfire, but do not establish a species-specific fire interval or fire response. Fire can remove the low shrub structure used for feeding, shelter and nesting, so fire planning should consider the condition and continuity of the understorey.

Construction disturbance is most likely to cause direct harm when it removes an active nest or separates a bird from dependent young during the breeding period.

  • Avoid broad-scale fuel reduction or construction burning through dense Redthroat habitat during the breeding period where practicable.
  • Inspect retained shrub habitat after fire and before further disturbance, because recently burned areas may no longer provide the required low cover.

Survey methodology: 1. Targeted habitat assessment

The Redthroat is a small, elusive, mainly ground-dwelling bird of arid and semi-arid shrublands. It can be missed during rapid inspections because it moves through low vegetation and may be detected by its call, brief flight and mouse-like hopping on the ground. [No source ids in text]

Map and inspect Acacia shrublands with chenopods, including mulga, saltbush and bluebush, as well as mallee, eucalypt regrowth, tea-tree, spinifex and paperbark thickets.

Give particular attention to dense low shrub cover near drainage lines, granite outcrops and other areas that provide a complex understory.

Record the extent, condition and connectivity of suitable shrub cover before disturbance.

Survey methodology: 2. Diurnal searches and transects

Conduct systematic searches during daylight through suitable low shrub habitat, rather than relying only on broad site inspections.

Use walked transects and area searches that cover all habitat proposed for clearing, adjoining retained habitat and likely movement routes.

Search below 1 metre, where the species predominantly forages, and check low branches, shrub bases and ground cover for birds moving ahead of the observer.

Allow extra time in dense cover because the species is elusive and may be identified only briefly by its longer tail, white tail tips, movement or call.

Typical body length: 11 to 12 cm

Main foraging height: Below 1 metre

Survey methodology: 3. Breeding-season and call observations

Schedule repeat observations across suitable weather and daylight periods, with particular attention from June to December when breeding has been reported, noting that breeding timing varies by region.

Listen for sustained warbling and cheery notes while searching, and record perched or singing birds without approaching nests.

Inspect low shrubs, spinifex and suitable cover for large domed nests with round entrances, but do not touch or dismantle nests.

Treat a territorial male, nest, pair, dependent young or repeated activity at one location as a sensitive record requiring review before clearing proceeds.

Reported breeding period: June to December, with regional variation

Other reported breeding period: August to November in central Australian records

Nest form: Large, domed nest with a round entrance, placed on or near the ground

Survey methodology: Minimum effort and reporting

  • Use a suitably qualified ecologist to define the search area, transect layout, repeat visits and weather conditions for the project risk and habitat present.
  • Record survey dates, start and finish times, observers, transect or search coverage, weather, habitat condition, detection method, coordinates and photographs.
  • Report every confirmed Redthroat record, nest, dependent young and injured or dead bird to the relevant state wildlife database, in addition to project records.
  • Retain negative survey results and mapped areas searched, because absence from a rapid search does not demonstrate absence from suitable shrub habitat.

Before habitat disturbance: Avoid and minimise

Avoid clearing suitable Redthroat habitat where practicable, then reduce the area, duration and intensity of disturbance. The main project risk is loss or degradation of low shrub habitat used for foraging, nesting and shelter.

  • Retain intact Acacia and chenopod shrublands, dense mallee understory, eucalypt regrowth, spinifex, tea-tree and paperbark thickets wherever the design allows.
  • Retain connected patches of low shrub cover between retained areas, rather than leaving isolated small patches surrounded by cleared ground.
  • Avoid clearing around drainage lines, granite outcrops and other sites where dense shrub cover is concentrated.
  • Prevent unnecessary vehicle access, stock access, grazing and weed spread into retained shrub habitat.

Before habitat disturbance: Approvals and work planning

  • Check the current EPBC Act status and obtain project-specific advice before works, even though the supplied profile states that the species is not nationally listed.
  • Check state and territory threatened-species requirements, clearing approvals, wildlife handling authorities and permit conditions for the work location.
  • Plan staged clearing outside the local breeding period where practicable, using June to December as the broader reported period and confirming regional advice because timing varies.
  • Prepare a fauna management plan that identifies the Redthroat habitat, exclusion areas, pre-clearance checks, spotter catcher authority, stop-work triggers, incident response and reporting.

Before habitat disturbance: Site preparation

  • Complete a pre-clearance inspection immediately before works, covering low shrubs, spinifex, shrub bases, ground cover and likely nest sites.
  • Mark retained shrub patches, drainage-line vegetation, habitat connections and no-go areas so machinery operators can see them from the work area.
  • Install exclusion fencing where it can protect retained habitat from machinery, vehicles, workers and material storage.
  • Brief all workers that the Redthroat may remain low in vegetation and may be detected by movement or song rather than by a conspicuous flight.

During habitat disturbance: Daily controls

Keep disturbance controlled and observable. A fauna spotter catcher should have authority to pause machinery whenever a Redthroat, nest or other fauna is detected in or near the work area.

  • Inspect exclusion fencing, retained habitat and access controls at the start of each workday and after storms, vehicle impacts or other damage.
  • Clear vegetation in stages and keep machinery within the approved footprint.
  • Use a fauna spotter catcher during clearing of suitable shrub habitat and require machinery to stop when the spotter catcher cannot maintain a clear view.
  • Do not stockpile spoil, slash, pipes or vehicles against retained shrub patches or drainage-line vegetation.
  • Restrict noisy or fast-moving works near an active nest, dependent young or repeatedly occupied habitat until the fauna management plan has been reviewed.

During habitat disturbance: Animal encounters and handling

  • Stop the immediate activity when a Redthroat is found in the clearing zone, and allow the spotter catcher to assess whether it can move into retained nearby cover.
  • Do not chase, catch or handle a Redthroat unless the person is authorised and competent under the relevant state or territory requirements.
  • Where handling is authorised and necessary, relocate the bird to nearby retained habitat that has suitable low shrub cover and is outside the work zone, following the approved fauna management plan.
  • Keep the bird in a quiet, shaded container for the shortest practical time and do not provide food or water unless directed by an authorised wildlife professional.
  • Take an injured bird promptly to an appropriately qualified veterinarian or authorised wildlife carer, and record the transfer.

During habitat disturbance: Habitat features and stop-work triggers

  • Stop work and obtain ecological advice if a domed nest, eggs, dependent young, repeated adult attendance or a bird unable to leave the work area is found.
  • Do not remove or disturb an active nest or the surrounding low shrub cover unless this is specifically authorised under the approved plan.
  • Treat dense low shrubs, spinifex clumps, shrub bases, logs and other ground cover as potential shelter during staged clearing, even though the supplied documents do not identify a species-specific hollow or rock requirement.
  • Suspend clearing if exclusion fencing fails, the approved footprint is exceeded, an unassessed habitat patch is encountered or the spotter catcher loses sight of fauna during machinery operation.

During habitat disturbance: Records and supervision

  • Record each detection, including date, time, coordinates, sex if known, behaviour, habitat, photographs, handling, release location and outcome.
  • Record all stop-work events, nest findings, injuries, deaths, relocations, permit details and corrective actions.
  • Provide daily fauna records to the site environmental officer and include relevant records in the project completion report.
  • Review the clearing method if repeated Redthroat detections occur in the work area or if birds are displaced into unsafe retained patches.

After habitat disturbance: Post-clearance inspection

Post-clearance work should confirm that retained Redthroat habitat remains connected, undamaged and free from avoidable pressures. Follow-up should focus on habitat condition, recolonisation and any unresolved fauna incidents.

  • Inspect the cleared boundary and retained shrub patches for damaged fencing, accidental clearing, slash deposition, vehicle incursions and weed introduction.
  • Complete a follow-up search of retained habitat where a Redthroat, nest or dependent young was recorded before or during clearing.
  • Check that relocated birds were released into suitable nearby cover and that all injuries, deaths and permit notifications have been closed out.
  • Update the habitat map to show the final cleared footprint, retained patches, buffers, access tracks and any rehabilitation areas.

After habitat disturbance: Monitoring and reporting

  • Monitor retained habitat during the project monitoring period using repeat daylight searches, records of calls and observations, and the same mapped search areas used before disturbance.
  • Compare detections, habitat condition and connectivity with the pre-disturbance baseline, while treating non-detection as inconclusive in this elusive species.
  • Report confirmed records to the relevant state wildlife database and provide required project reports to the approval authority or land manager.
  • Investigate a decline in detections alongside clearing, grazing, weed spread, fire or predator activity before deciding that the species has left the site.

After habitat disturbance: Maintain controls and offsets

  • Maintain exclusion fencing, no-go areas, weed controls and access restrictions until rehabilitation is stable and the environmental officer signs them off.
  • Apply any approval conditions for offsets, habitat protection or threatened-species management, where those conditions are triggered by the project.
  • Do not use an offset as a reason to remove avoidable Redthroat habitat from the project footprint.

Rehabilitation actions: Rebuild suitable structure

Rehabilitation should recreate the low, dense shrub structure used by Redthroats for foraging, nesting and shelter. The species is associated with Acacia and chenopod shrublands, mallee and eucalypt regrowth, and other dense shrub communities.

  • Use locally appropriate native Acacia and chenopod species, including locally suitable saltbush and bluebush, where they match the pre-clearing community.
  • Re-establish dense low shrub cover, mallee understory and ground-level shelter rather than creating widely spaced trees with open bare ground.
  • Revegetate drainage-line margins, paperbark thickets and other retained habitat edges where these communities were damaged by the works.
  • Use local seed or plant material where available and match the former soil, drainage and vegetation community.

Rehabilitation actions: Manage threats

  • Control invasive weeds that reduce the dense native understory used by Redthroats.
  • Prevent grazing by stock and feral herbivores in rehabilitation areas until shrub cover is established.
  • Manage foxes and cats where they are identified as project threats, particularly in areas where the species is declining or where state advice identifies predation risk.
  • Plan fire management to retain connected patches of mature shrub cover and avoid repeated disturbance of newly regenerating habitat.

Rehabilitation actions: Monitoring and success measures

  • Inspect rehabilitation after establishment and after major rainfall, fire or grazing events to confirm plant survival, weed control, erosion control and continuity of low shrub cover.
  • Use fixed photographs and mapped vegetation condition to track whether the rehabilitated area is developing a dense understory suitable for foraging and nesting.
  • Repeat targeted Redthroat searches during suitable daylight conditions and record calls, birds, nests and use of restored areas.
  • Set project-specific completion criteria for native shrub cover, connectivity, weed levels, grazing exclusion and confirmed maintenance of the site, because the supplied documents do not provide numerical rehabilitation thresholds.

Sources