Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 17, 2026

Copperback quail-thrush

The copperback quail-thrush is a species of bird in the family Cinclosomatidae. It was split from the chestnut quail-thrush in 2015. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.

Last revised
Jul 17, 2026
Read time
≈ 1 min
Length
219 w
Citations
6
Source
Copperback quail-thrush
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Cinclosomatidae
Genus: Cinclosoma
Species:
C. clarum
Binomial name
Cinclosoma clarum
Morgan, 1926
Subspecies
  • C. c. clarum
  • C. c. fordianum
  • C. c. morgani

The copperback quail-thrush (Cinclosoma clarum) is a species of bird in the family Cinclosomatidae. It was split from the chestnut quail-thrush in 2015.1 It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitat is Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.

Subspecies

  • C. c. clarum: little to no sexual dimorphism.2 They tend to be brown with rust-colored back bands.2
  • C. c. fordianum: does exhibit sexual dimorphism.2 Males are gray with dark brown streaks; females are usually brownish-gray with similar patterning.2 Some females have a faint, narrow back band, and some have none at all.2
  • C. c. morgani: Eyre Peninsula
References

References

  1. Dolman, Gaynor; Joseph, Leo (2015). "Evolutionary history of birds across southern Australia: structure, history and taxonomic implications of mitochondrial DNA diversity in an ecologically diverse suite of species". Emu. 115 (1): 35–48. Bibcode:2015EmuAO.115...35D. doi:10.1071/MU14047.
  2. McElroy, Kerensa; Black, Andrew; Dolman, Gaynor; Horton, Philippa; Pedler, Lynn; Campbell, Catriona D.; Drew, Alex; Joseph, Leo (2020-05-31). "Robbery in progress: Historical museum collections bring to light a mitochondrial capture within a bird species widespread across southern Australia, the Copperback Quail-thrush Cinclosoma clarum". Ecology and Evolution. 10 (13): 6785–6793. Bibcode:2020EcoEv..10.6785M. doi:10.1002/ece3.6403. ISSN 2045-7758. PMC 7381587. PMID 32724551.