The inland thornbill was originally described by English ornithologist John Gould in The Birds of Australia. Inland thornbills are within the order passerines. The inland thornbill belongs to the genus Acanthiza, which now has three more species than the eleven outlined by Gould in The Birds of Australia. The Noongar people of southwestern Western Australia call A. apicalis "Djoobi-Djoolbang". The inland thornbill is also known as the broad-tail thornbill and presently contains several subspecies that were once considered independent species. The word apicalis comes from the Latin for 'tipped'.
Region
Inland and southern Australia
Typical Environment
Found across inland and southern Australia in dry shrublands, mallee and mulga woodlands, open eucalypt forests, and chenopod scrub. It favors areas with dense low cover for foraging and nesting, including Acacia thickets and mallee-heath. It also occurs along creeklines and in coastal and inland heaths where shrubs provide continuous shelter. The species adapts well to patchy, semi-arid landscapes and edges of woodlands.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1200 m
Climate Zone
Arid
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A small Australian thornbill also called the broad-tailed thornbill, it forages nimbly through shrubs and low trees for tiny arthropods. Its pale eye helps separate it from the similar Brown Thornbill, which has a reddish eye. Noongar people of southwestern Western Australia know it as Djoobi-Djoolbang. It builds a domed, woven nest hidden in dense shrubs and often forages in small family groups.
![Acanthiza apicalis plate from Birds of Australia (Gould)[6]](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/98/Bird_illustration_by_Elizabeth_Gould_for_Birds_of_Australia%2C_digitally_enhanced_from_rawpixel%27s_own_facsimile_book197.jpg/1280px-Bird_illustration_by_Elizabeth_Gould_for_Birds_of_Australia%2C_digitally_enhanced_from_rawpixel%27s_own_facsimile_book197.jpg){kind=tracking}
Acanthiza apicalis plate from Birds of Australia (Gould)[6]
Inland thornbill
Brown thornbill
Mulga {Acacia aneura)
Inland thornbill, Wyperfeld National Park, Victoria
Shining bronze-cuckoo
Temperament
active and somewhat secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually seen in pairs or small family groups and may join mixed-species foraging flocks outside the breeding season. Pairs maintain territories in dense shrublands, where they place a domed nest low in cover. Cooperative breeding with helpers occurs in some groups.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
A soft, tinkling series of trills and twittering notes, delivered from within shrubs. Calls include thin contact chips and higher, rippling phrases given during foraging and territorial interactions.
