The brown songlark (Cincloramphus cruralis), also Australian songlark, is a small passerinebird found throughout much of Australia. A member of the family Locustellidae, this species is notable for sexual size dimorphism, among the most pronounced in any bird.[2] It is a moderate-sized bird of nondescript plumage; the female brownish above and paler below, the larger male a darker brown.
The brown songlark was described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield as Megalurus cruralis in 1827.[3]John Gould placed it in the genus Cincloramphus in 1843, describing it as C. cantatoris.[4] However, the specific name of the former authors took priority. Along with most Old World Warblers, this species was formerly placed in Sylviidae sensu lato, but molecular phylogenetic studies demonstrated that this broad grouping is not a cohesive evolutionary lineage and warbler species were assigned to various families.
An alternative generic name Cinclorhamphus is derived from Greek words cinclus/κιγκλος "wagtail" and ramphos/ραμφος "beak"[5] and cruralis from the Latin root crur- "leg, shin".[6]
Description
Male brown songlarks are 23–25 cm long versus 18–19 cm for females, and may weigh 2.3 times as much.[7] The average weight of males was listed as 74.8 g (2.64 oz) and that of females is 32.4 g (1.14 oz).[8] They are probably the most sexually dimorphic passerine in the world in size difference, as well as likely the largest species in the family Locustellidae.[9] In general, the birds have a dusky pale-streaked with darker brown plumage and pale eyebrows. The underparts are brownish-white in the female, darker brown in the male. Breeding males may display a cinnamon colour. The eyes and bill are black, and the legs grey. Juveniles are smaller and paler with pinkish-brown bills. The call has been described as loud and creaky.[10] The male is the principal singer, calling from perches or when rising above breeding territory.[11]
Distribution and habitat
The bird is found throughout Australia, except for parts of the far north and Tasmania. There are particularly dense populations in the southern parts of the country. It prefers open pastures and grassy scrub, and feeds on seeds and insects. The species is highly nomadic. Local numbers fluctuate depending on rainfall and the bird will often flee from drought-affected areas.[11]
The brown songlark has a large range, between 1,000,000 and 10,000,000 km²; while population size has not been quantified the bird is reported to be common. The IUCN thus lists it as a species of least concern[12] and it is considered "secure" by Australian authorities.
Reproduction
Nesting occurs from August to December. The nest itself is a deep cup of herbaceous material well concealed in shrubbery or tall grass. There is generally one clutch per breeding season, consisting of 2 to 5 pale pink eggs, 23 mm x 17 mm in size, with reddish brown spots and flecks.[13] Females provide most of the parenting. Foxes and snakes prey upon nests.[7]
Sexual dimorphism
The sexual dimorphism of the species has been the subject of study. Males are highly polygynous and compete directly for mates, giving rise to the pronounced size differential. Preferring open terrain, there is significant habitat homogeneity (sameness) and excellent visibility across brown songlark territories. This allows males to defend large territories and support multiple nesting females.[7]
Research has shown an interesting corollary to the dimorphism of the species: though males are larger than females, females hatch from larger eggs and are initially heavier than their brothers. This may provide them an early competitive advantage. Particularly, in periods of low food availability, the greater nutrient reserves of female hatchlings may skew the sex-ratio toward "cheaper" daughters. Three weeks after hatching, male chicks are significantly heavier than the females. After ten days, the male chicks are almost 50% heavier than their sisters. This is due to the male nestlings receiving a higher quantity and quality of prey from their parents. The males receive more spiders than their sisters, providing them with certain amino acids that are essential for their growth and development. The females receive more grasshoppers than spiders, which contain chitin (the indigestible carbohydrate of the exoskeleton). Studies have shown that when raising all male chicks, the females energy expenditure increases by 27%. The favouritism shown to the male chicks is due to the importance of body size in males in regard to reproductive success, ensuring the parents genes are well represented in future generations.[2]
Gallery
Bryden, SE Qld, Australia
References
^BirdLife International (2016). "Cincloramphus cruralis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22715511A94456565. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22715511A94456565.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^ abMagrath, Michael J. L.; Brouwer, Lyanne; Komdeur, Jan (August 2003). "Egg size and laying order in relation to offspring sex in the extreme sexually size dimorphic brown songlark". Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 54 (3): 240–248. doi:10.1007/s00265-003-0627-y. S2CID 11577373.
^Vigors, N.A. & Horsfield, T. (1827). "A description of the Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society; with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities". Trans. Linn. Soc. Lond. 15: 170–331 [228]. doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.1826.tb00115.x.
^Gould, J. (1843). In Proceedings of meeting of Zoological Society of London, Oct. 11, 1842.: 131-140 [135]
^Liddell & Scott (1980). Greek-English Lexicon, Abridged Edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. ISBN0-19-910207-4.
^Simpson, D.P. (1979). Cassell's Latin Dictionary (5th ed.). London: Cassell Ltd. p. 883. ISBN0-304-52257-0.
^ abcMagrath, Michael J. L.; Brouwer, Lyanne; Van Peterson, Arnoud; Berg, Mathew L.; Komdeur, Jan (2003). "Breeding behaviour and ecology of the sexually size-dimorphic brown songlark, Cinclorhamphus cruralis". Australian Journal of Zoology. 51 (5): 429–441. doi:10.1071/ZO03034. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
^Dunning, John B. Jr., ed. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses (2nd ed.). CRC Press. ISBN978-1-4200-6444-5.
^Madge, S. (2020). Brown Songlark (Cincloramphus cruralis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.
^Simpson K, Day N, Trusler P (1993). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Ringwood, Victoria: Viking O'Neil. p. 392. ISBN0-670-90478-3.
^ ab"Brown Songlark". Birds in Backyards. Australian Museum. Retrieved 2007-06-01.
^BirdLife International (2016). "Cincloramphus cruralis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22715511A94456565. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22715511A94456565.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021. .
^Beruldsen, G (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self. pp. 397–398. ISBN0-646-42798-9.
11. Goodenough, J. McGuire, B. Jakob, E. (2009)Perspectives on animal behaviour (3rd edition). United States of America: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
External links
January 09, 2023
brown, songlark, brown, songlark, cincloramphus, cruralis, also, australian, songlark, small, passerine, bird, found, throughout, much, australia, member, family, locustellidae, this, species, notable, sexual, size, dimorphism, among, most, pronounced, bird, m. The brown songlark Cincloramphus cruralis also Australian songlark is a small passerine bird found throughout much of Australia A member of the family Locustellidae this species is notable for sexual size dimorphism among the most pronounced in any bird 2 It is a moderate sized bird of nondescript plumage the female brownish above and paler below the larger male a darker brown Brown songlarkmale near Baradine New South WalesConservation statusLeast Concern IUCN 3 1 1 Scientific classificationKingdom AnimaliaPhylum ChordataClass AvesOrder PasseriformesFamily LocustellidaeGenus CincloramphusSpecies C cruralisBinomial nameCincloramphus cruralis Vigors amp Horsfield 1827 SynonymsMegalurus cruralis protonym Contents 1 Taxonomy 2 Description 3 Distribution and habitat 4 Reproduction 4 1 Sexual dimorphism 5 Gallery 6 References 7 External linksTaxonomy EditThe brown songlark was described by Nicholas Aylward Vigors and Thomas Horsfield as Megalurus cruralis in 1827 3 John Gould placed it in the genus Cincloramphus in 1843 describing it as C cantatoris 4 However the specific name of the former authors took priority Along with most Old World Warblers this species was formerly placed in Sylviidae sensu lato but molecular phylogenetic studies demonstrated that this broad grouping is not a cohesive evolutionary lineage and warbler species were assigned to various families An alternative generic name Cinclorhamphus is derived from Greek words cinclus kigklos wagtail and ramphos ramfos beak 5 and cruralis from the Latin root crur leg shin 6 Description EditMale brown songlarks are 23 25 cm long versus 18 19 cm for females and may weigh 2 3 times as much 7 The average weight of males was listed as 74 8 g 2 64 oz and that of females is 32 4 g 1 14 oz 8 They are probably the most sexually dimorphic passerine in the world in size difference as well as likely the largest species in the family Locustellidae 9 In general the birds have a dusky pale streaked with darker brown plumage and pale eyebrows The underparts are brownish white in the female darker brown in the male Breeding males may display a cinnamon colour The eyes and bill are black and the legs grey Juveniles are smaller and paler with pinkish brown bills The call has been described as loud and creaky 10 The male is the principal singer calling from perches or when rising above breeding territory 11 Distribution and habitat EditThe bird is found throughout Australia except for parts of the far north and Tasmania There are particularly dense populations in the southern parts of the country It prefers open pastures and grassy scrub and feeds on seeds and insects The species is highly nomadic Local numbers fluctuate depending on rainfall and the bird will often flee from drought affected areas 11 The brown songlark has a large range between 1 000 000 and 10 000 000 km while population size has not been quantified the bird is reported to be common The IUCN thus lists it as a species of least concern 12 and it is considered secure by Australian authorities Reproduction EditNesting occurs from August to December The nest itself is a deep cup of herbaceous material well concealed in shrubbery or tall grass There is generally one clutch per breeding season consisting of 2 to 5 pale pink eggs 23 mm x 17 mm in size with reddish brown spots and flecks 13 Females provide most of the parenting Foxes and snakes prey upon nests 7 Sexual dimorphism Edit The sexual dimorphism of the species has been the subject of study Males are highly polygynous and compete directly for mates giving rise to the pronounced size differential Preferring open terrain there is significant habitat homogeneity sameness and excellent visibility across brown songlark territories This allows males to defend large territories and support multiple nesting females 7 Research has shown an interesting corollary to the dimorphism of the species though males are larger than females females hatch from larger eggs and are initially heavier than their brothers This may provide them an early competitive advantage Particularly in periods of low food availability the greater nutrient reserves of female hatchlings may skew the sex ratio toward cheaper daughters Three weeks after hatching male chicks are significantly heavier than the females After ten days the male chicks are almost 50 heavier than their sisters This is due to the male nestlings receiving a higher quantity and quality of prey from their parents The males receive more spiders than their sisters providing them with certain amino acids that are essential for their growth and development The females receive more grasshoppers than spiders which contain chitin the indigestible carbohydrate of the exoskeleton Studies have shown that when raising all male chicks the females energy expenditure increases by 27 The favouritism shown to the male chicks is due to the importance of body size in males in regard to reproductive success ensuring the parents genes are well represented in future generations 2 Gallery Edit source source source source source source Bryden SE Qld Australia References Edit BirdLife International 2016 Cincloramphus cruralis IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T22715511A94456565 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T22715511A94456565 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 a b Magrath Michael J L Brouwer Lyanne Komdeur Jan August 2003 Egg size and laying order in relation to offspring sex in the extreme sexually size dimorphic brown songlark Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology 54 3 240 248 doi 10 1007 s00265 003 0627 y S2CID 11577373 Vigors N A amp Horsfield T 1827 A description of the Australian birds in the collection of the Linnean Society with an attempt at arranging them according to their natural affinities Trans Linn Soc Lond 15 170 331 228 doi 10 1111 j 1095 8339 1826 tb00115 x Gould J 1843 In Proceedings of meeting of Zoological Society of London Oct 11 1842 131 140 135 Liddell amp Scott 1980 Greek English Lexicon Abridged Edition Oxford University Press Oxford UK ISBN 0 19 910207 4 Simpson D P 1979 Cassell s Latin Dictionary 5th ed London Cassell Ltd p 883 ISBN 0 304 52257 0 a b c Magrath Michael J L Brouwer Lyanne Van Peterson Arnoud Berg Mathew L Komdeur Jan 2003 Breeding behaviour and ecology of the sexually size dimorphic brown songlark Cinclorhamphus cruralis Australian Journal of Zoology 51 5 429 441 doi 10 1071 ZO03034 Retrieved 2007 06 01 Dunning John B Jr ed 2008 CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses 2nd ed CRC Press ISBN 978 1 4200 6444 5 Madge S 2020 Brown Songlark Cincloramphus cruralis version 1 0 In Birds of the World J del Hoyo A Elliott J Sargatal D A Christie and E de Juana Editors Cornell Lab of Ornithology Ithaca NY USA Simpson K Day N Trusler P 1993 Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Ringwood Victoria Viking O Neil p 392 ISBN 0 670 90478 3 a b Brown Songlark Birds in Backyards Australian Museum Retrieved 2007 06 01 BirdLife International 2016 Cincloramphus cruralis IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016 e T22715511A94456565 doi 10 2305 IUCN UK 2016 3 RLTS T22715511A94456565 en Retrieved 12 November 2021 Beruldsen G 2003 Australian Birds Their Nests and Eggs Kenmore Hills Qld self pp 397 398 ISBN 0 646 42798 9 11 Goodenough J McGuire B Jakob E 2009 Perspectives on animal behaviour 3rd edition United States of America John Wiley amp Sons Inc External links EditOld World Warbler photos Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Brown songlark amp oldid 1126054315, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
