Grey Shrike-thrush

Colluricincla harmonica

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Quick facts

Size: Averages 24 cm long including tail, 77 g.

Range and lifestyle: Found all over Australia; pairs live in moderately large territories all year-round.

Food: Insects, spiders and lizards.

Breeding: The nest is like a bowl, made of bark strips and grass, built within a tree hollow, often in a dead tree. Both female and male incubate their clutch of 2 eggs for 17-18 days.

The word ‘shrike’ appears in the names of many Australian birds that have hooked tips to their bills as this is the distinguishing feature of birds called shrikes found in many other parts of the world.
In addition to having hooked bill-tips, Australian Shrike-thrushes are among our most accomplished songsters, akin to the thrushes of Europe – hence the second part of the name.
They forage both in trees and on the ground.
While their colour may not catch your eye, their beautiful songs will catch your ear.