Chowchilla (Orthonyx spaldingii)
About the Chowchilla
The chowchilla (Orthonyx spaldingii) is a passerine bird in the family Orthonychidae. It is endemic to Australia. In their 1999 study, Schodde and Mason recognise two adjoining subspecies, O. s. spaldingii and O. s. melasmenus with a zone of intergradation. Unmistakable thrush-like, ground-dwelling, birds. Males and females largely dark brown with white eye-ring, tail-feather shafts extend as spines beyond feather-vanes; males with white throat, breast and belly; females with bright rufous throat and upper breast, white lower breast and belly. The chowchilla is restricted to upland and lowland tropical rainforests of north-eastern Queensland. Mainly invertebrates, but also small vertebrates. Continuous chattering, singing and other complex vocalisations.
No audio on this page yet
We only publish recordings we may use commercially, because this site is supported by ads. xeno-canto lists 46 recordings for this species: 31 CC BY-NC-ND · 15 CC BY-NC-SA. None of them permits commercial use, so there is no player here — the page is kept as a profile so the bird is not missing from the guide.
As soon as someone uploads a freely licensed recording, we mirror it and the player appears here.
Listed as recorded in Australia in the xeno-canto catalogue.
Related species you can hear
- Australian LogrunnerOrthonyx temminckiirecording
This species has no recording here yet — these relatives do, so you can hear what the family sounds like.