Spotted catbird

Species of bird

The spotted catbird (Ailuroedus maculosus) is a species of bowerbird (Ptilonorhynchidae) which can be found in north Queensland, the eastern Moluccas and New Guinea. Although it is a member of the bowerbird family it does not build a bower. Widespread and common throughout its large range, the spotted catbird is evaluated as Least Concern on IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is a chunky rainforest bird with emerald green upperparts, a black spot below the dark red eye, and green olive underparts with extensive pale spotting. It inhabits the Wet Tropics of northern Queensland (Cairns region), and thus does not overlap with similar green catbird.

The spotted catbird is one of ten species in the genus Ailuroedus, the non bower building bowerbirds. The noticeable difference between the two Australian dwelling species is the lack of black ear coverts and reduction in dorsal spotting on A. cassirostris. Molecular evidence suggests Ailuroedus is a sister group to the other bowerbirds, diverging into the only genus within the eight species of Australian bowerbirds that is monogamous and does not build a bower or clear a court for mating. The other bowerbirds are polygynous and make various forms of bowers or create stages for mating. One study revealed the catbirds have a smaller brain for their body size compared to the bower building species. Until 2016, A. maculosus was considered a subspecies of either A. melanotis, then also named the spotted catbird, or as a subspecies of A. crassirostris (green catbird).

The spotted catbird is an Australo Papuan species. It can be found in tropical rainforest and is locally common in its range. Spotted catbirds are a highly specialized rainforest species and in the Australian wet tropics they prefer to nest in well vegetated areas with steep creek slopes and also in forests with Calamus tangles and will nest in the same location year after year. They have a home range of 1 2 hectares and forage about 68 m from their nests. There have been attempts at revegetation on the Atherton Tablelands in north Queensland. This has resulted in habitat heterogeneity. These attempts may not be helpful to the habitat specific species. This rainforest fragmentation creates corridors in the attempt to provide habitat for rainforest birds. These corridors are subject to edge effects and go unused by the specialized rainforest species. However, they have been regularly detected in well established rainforest regrowth in Australia.

Spotted catbirds are 26–30 cm. They have slim white wing bars and a white tipped green tail. The eye is red and it has a stout, cream colored beak. Their coloring differs from other bowerbirds which have a plumage color pattern consisting of a mixture of two colors of various proportions. The cryptic plumage coloring of the catbird aids in parental care by helping the catbird blend into its surroundings allowing males and females to tend to the nestlings. It may also allow spotted catbirds to spend more time foraging as they blend into the surrounding foliage. Their voice is described as loud with cat like wailing. They produce a nasal "here I arr" call with sharp clicks and three loud cries.

The following notes were made in regard to the spotted catbird's curious personality, "On entering a scrub from the roadside one may hear a Catbird call perhaps a hundred yards away. The bird will probably call several times in the next few minutes, advancing nearer and each time, until, at last, the bird will be seen arriving on a branch close to the intruder, where it will continue its harah calling at intervals, whilst watching closely its human neighbour. In all probability after a short interval the bird’s mate will arrive in answer to the calls of the first bird."

The spotted catbird is mainly frugivorous. They have been seen foraging at varying altitudinal levels. They often forage on the ground and use their strong feet and powerful bills to eat small, structurally unprotected fruit under 10mm in diameter. They also eat large, structurally unprotected fruit between 13 21mm in diameter. Their bright green plumage may prevent them from joining foraging flocks of brown and black colored birds in the rainforest. They eat the seeds of palms, wild figs, berries from the stinging tree and all kinds of soft fruit. Spotted catbirds will also eat beetles and insects as well as new buds and shoots of ferns. Spotted catbirds have also been photographed attacking nests on the ground and have even been observed feeding nestlings taken from nests to their young. In one study, the imprints from the bill closely resembled the marks on dummy eggs in 87.9% of the 66 nests depredated by birds. Spotted catbirds are also known to eat birds that have become trapped in mist nets.

The Ailuroedus genus of the bowerbird family consists of monogamous pairs that do not build a bower. The males and females both defend an all purpose territory. Spotted catbirds form pair bonds, some which are known to last for more than one breeding season and it is believed that this monogamy results from the need for two parents to raise the brood successfully. The breeding season is from August to March.

There are usually two, but possibly three eggs which are glossy, cream colored and oval in shape. These eggs are laid on alternate days about 48 hours apart. The female is the sole incubator of the eggs.