Black head, wings, and upperparts with some yellow on wings. Underparts white, with wide rufous band at breast. Has pearl-grey head, fine darker streaking on to of head, diffusely darker loral stripe and well defined white chin and throat, upperparts brown, upperwing darker loral stripe and well defined white chin and throat, upperpart brown, upperwing and upper tail slightly darker, diffuse pale edges on greater secondary coverts, narrow paler brown to off-white fringes on tertials, and fine yellow edged on remiges and rectrices (prominent yellow pattern on folded wing and yellow). Underbody white, broad but diffuse brown breast band continuing as brown wash slony flanks, undertail dark grey, underwing grayish-white with brownish-grey trailing edge and tip, iris brown to brownish-grey, bill black brown, blue-grey base of lower mandibule, blue-grey or pale grey gape, legs blue-grey to dark grey. Sexes alike in plumage, male slightly larger than female. Juvenile is like adult, but with top and side of head browner, no dark streaking on head, merginig into off-white chin and throat, and with obvious narrow off-white Dariny, under body off-white.
Not Threatened
Black head, wings, and upperparts with some yellow on wings. Underparts white, with wide rufous band at breast. Has pearl-grey head, fine darker streaking on to of head, diffusely darker loral stripe and well defined white chin and throat, upperparts brown, upperwing darker loral stripe and well defined white chin and throat, upperpart brown, upperwing and upper tail slightly darker, diffuse pale edges on greater secondary coverts, narrow paler brown to off-white fringes on tertials, and fine yellow edged on remiges and rectrices (prominent yellow pattern on folded wing and yellow). Underbody white, broad but diffuse brown breast band continuing as brown wash slony flanks, undertail dark grey, underwing grayish-white with brownish-grey trailing edge and tip, iris brown to brownish-grey, bill black brown, blue-grey base of lower mandibule, blue-grey or pale grey gape, legs blue-grey to dark grey. Sexes alike in plumage, male slightly larger than female. Juvenile is like adult, but with top and side of head browner, no dark streaking on head, merginig into off-white chin and throat, and with obvious narrow off-white Dariny, under body off-white.
13 cm; 12 g
Taxonomy: Entomophila ? albogularis Gould, 1843, Port Essington, Northern Territory, Australia. May form a superspecies with C. rufogularis. Populations of New Guinea and Torres Strait proposed as race mimikae (described from Mimika R, in SW New Guinea), but appear not to differ in plumage or size from Australian populations. Monotypic. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Distribution:
- Patchily in lowland New Guinea, at Sorong (W Vogelkop), along Sepik R, MarkhamR and upper Musa R (in N), and (in S) from Triton Bay E to Trans-Fly and Fly R, and at scattered sites in SE lowlands from Kerema E to Milne Bay; Aru Is; islands in Torres Strait; and N Australia from Melville I and Top End of Northern Territory (S to 15° S, E in coastal and subcoastal areas to Gove Peninsula), Groote Eylandt, and E to N Queensland (Cape York Peninsula).
Riparian forests of paperbark (Melaleuca), eucalyptus woodlands, mangroves, vine thickets, town parks, and gardens.
Highly insectivorous, foraging from outer foliage, especially of wattles. Also take nectar from eucalyptus and paperbark flowers and eat the arils that attach wattle seeds to the pod.
May breed at any time but main peaks are in late dry (September–November) and late wet (January to March) seasons. The purse-shaped nest is suspended from outer twigs of wattle or paperbark, often over water. Usually two to three eggs (occasionally one or four) that are incubated for about 14 days. Both adults feed young that fledge at 14 days.