Distribution Map
Chiming Wedgebill
Psophodes occidentalis
EndemicStatus
UncommonRarity
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Species Description
The Chiming Wedgebill (*Psophodes occidentalis*) is a grey-brown songbird found in Australia’s arid interior, well-known for its loud, chiming call that echoes through mulga woodlands and shrublands. This robust, compact bird is more often heard than seen, as it tends to remain hidden in dense vegetation across western and central Australia.
Fun Facts
Chiming Wedgebills are expert ventriloquists, locating them by sound alone is a real challenge, as their calls often seem to come from different directions.
1. Forward-curving dark crest and uniform grey-brown body
2. Black bill and white-tipped tail feathers that flash in flight
3. Both sexes look similar; juveniles are paler with a lighter bill
These birds feed mainly on insects and seeds collected from the ground and lower vegetation. Chiming Wedgebills are famous for their persistent, ventriloquial calls, which are most often heard at dawn and dusk. Breeding usually occurs from August to November, but they may also nest from February to May following good rainfall. Nests are untidy cups made of grass and twigs, placed in low shrubs or bushes. Females lay 2–3 blue, spotted eggs, and both parents share incubation duties.
Chiming Wedgebills inhabit arid and semi-arid regions of western and central Australia, including parts of Western Australia, the southern Northern Territory, northwestern South Australia, and western Queensland. They prefer dense shrublands and woodlands, particularly areas with mulga (Acacia), broombush, mallee, and spinifex, often near river courses or in low shrublands like those found in Shark Bay. They are non-migratory and tend to stay within their home regions year-round`.`
Physical Attributes
Height
21 cm
Size Relative to Other Birds44%
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