The crested shrike-tit (northern) is an arboreal, medium sized bird, with striking black and white markings, and black crest on the head, with the body green above and yellow below. The male has a black throat, while the female has an olive-green throat. The bill is conspicuously deep, strong and hooked. The nominate subspecies in the genus (F. f. frontatus) measures approximately 17 cm in length with a wingspan of approximately 26 cm. However, the northern subspecies is noticeably smaller than the nominate subspecies, with much shorter wing and tail but relatively large bill and tarsus.
Crested Shrike-tit (northern) |
Falcunculus frontatus whitei
Status: Vulnerable on the EPBC Act list
Government evidence of impact of climate change:
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Australian Government, Conservation Advice, Falcunculus frontatus whitei
The subspecies is also impacted by broad scale environmental changes resulting from altered fire regimes; grazing by livestock and feral animals; and invasion of native woodlands by exotic plants; particularly introduced pasture grasses which can increase the intensity of fires (Woinarski 2004).
Carry out research to further understand the impacts of varying fire regimes on individuals and populations.