The Spotted Catbird (Ailuroedus maculosus) is an unmistakable part of the soundscape of upland rainforests in northeast Queensland. Its eponymous call is indeed very catlike, but despite its aural ubiquity it is rather secretive and is frustratingly difficult to spot in the foliage of the middle forest canopy.
It took me many visits up to Paluma after I first arrived in Australia to finally spot the bird that I had heard repeatedly on every visit. Now that I have a house in Paluma with a bird feeder, I get great views every morning.
This main call is used by a mating pair to establish and defend a territory.
Pairs and groups also communicate with each other using a softer single-note call that is often heard but seldom associated with the catbird to non-birders.
The Spotted Catbird is one of 10 species of catbirds (genus Ailuroedus), which can be found only in New Guinea and Australia. Two species are endemic to Australia (Spotted and Green Catbirds), while a third occurs in the Cape York rainforest and New Guinea.
Like our previous bird of the month, catbirds belong to the bowerbird family (Ptilonorhynchidae). However, unlike all other bowerbirds, they are much less flamboyant in both their plumage and behaviour. Catbirds have a relatively subdued colouration, usually a mix of green on the back and cream to tan mottling on the undersides, with males and females looking alike. They also eschew the hectic and showy romantic antics of other male bowerbirds that build elaborate bowers or stages and compete fiercely to attract multiple mates. Instead, catbird males are monogamous (stick with a single partner) and share parental duties at the nest.
The Spotted Catbird eat mostly fruit supplemented by insects – and the occasional nestling or eggs of smaller birds. Like other bowerbirds, they are very long-lived, with one tagged individual recorded over 19 years! They live mainly above 900m and are relatively sedentary, travelling no more than 2km (typically 70m) to forage for food. Pairs of birds defend a territory of about 1.6ha during the breeding season (August to March).
Text and Photos by Jamie Oliver