IUCN Vulnerable (VU)
Southern Whiteface
Aphelocephala leucopsis
The Southern Whiteface is a small, sturdy, grey-brown bird with a stubby finch-like bill which inhabits dry, open forest and woodlands. The Southern Whiteface was uplisted to Vulnerable as of March 2023.
The Southern Whiteface is a small, sturdy, grey-brown bird with a stubby finch-like bill, white forehead with a black margin and a pale eye. Underparts are pale grey with olive-buff flanks. In the south-west subspecies, the flanks are rufous. In-flight it flits its tail, which has a broad black tail band with white tips. Their average size is 11cm, and their average weight is 12 grams
Continual rapid twittering on one note, flight call is a brisk ‘wit, wit-awit’. Bird call recorded by: Marc Anderson
The main song & call.
Credits to the owner/recorder.
Dry open forests and woodland and inland scrubs of mallee, mulga and saltbush are the preferred habitat of Southern Whiteface, especially areas with fallen timber or dead trees and stumps.
Distribution map
The Southern Whiteface forages in groups of 10-15 (or larger!) and mixes with other feeding species such as Yellow-rumped Thornbills, covering ground in short half-hops, one foot in front of the other, picking up food as they go.
Feeding mainly on insects and spiders, the Southern Whiteface forages on the ground and low in shrubbery where they may also take seeds and leaves.
In breeding season (June to December, but inland breeding time is influenced by rainfall), the Southern Whiteface builds an untidy domed nest of grass, rootlets and bark. Nests are built in a hollow limb, stump or fence post or in the foliage of shrubs and small trees, in sheds or in nest- boxes. The clutch size is 2-5 eggs, usually 3-4. The incubation period is 20 days.
Species considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild.
IUCN status reflects the conservation status of this species globally.
Habitat destruction
Climate change
