Rufous Shrikethrush

1. Thick, robust pale bill.

2. Stocky, compact build with a shorter tail than the similar Grey Shrikethrush.

3. Gray-brown upperparts with buffy or rufous underparts and subtle breast streaking.

This species feeds mainly on invertebrates such as insects, spiders, snails, and small crabs, but will also take seeds and fruit. Rufous Shrikethrushes forage by gleaning from foliage, branches, and trunks, and occasionally on the ground. Breeding occurs between August and February in Australia. Nests are built in upright forks, vine tangles, or palm fronds, usually below 2 meters from the ground. Females typically lay two eggs, and both parents contribute to incubation and feeding the young. The species is territorial, with some individuals remaining in the same area for up to 8 years, and can live for over 16 years in the wild. Both sexes incubate the eggs.

Rufous Shrikethrushes inhabit subtropical and tropical moist lowland and montane forests in eastern Australia (from northeastern New South Wales through Queensland to Cape York Peninsula) and New Guinea. They are typically found in rainforest, monsoon forest, gallery forest, mangroves, paperbark swamps, and dense coastal woodland, foraging mostly in the lower forest strata between 1–4 meters above ground