Bird Guide

Blue-mantled Thornbill vs Rainbow-bearded Thornbill

Blue-mantled Thornbill (Chalcostigma stanleyi)

Blue-mantled Thornbill

Chalcostigma stanleyi

Tiny6 gGrassland

The blue-mantled thornbill is 12 to 13 cm (4.7 to 5.1 in) long; males weigh about 6.2 g (0.22 oz) and females 4.5 g (0.16 oz). Both sexes have a short straight black bill and a small white spot behind the eye. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are generally dark sooty brown. The crown and nape have a bronzy green sheen, the back reflects violet-blue, and the uppertail coverts are turquoise. The forked tail is steel blue. They have a narrow gorget that is emerald green on the chin and transitions through pink to purple-violet or violet-blue at the lower edge. Voice: The blue-mantled thornbill's calls have been described as "a descending squeaky twitter followed by a mellower upslurred note" and "a downslurred 'tseetsitsitsitsitr-whee-tsew' variations."

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Esteban Poveda, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Esteban Poveda · cc-by
Rainbow-bearded Thornbill (Chalcostigma herrani)

Rainbow-bearded Thornbill

Chalcostigma herrani

Tiny6 gGrassland

The rainbow-bearded thornbill is 10 to 12 cm (3.9 to 4.7 in) long. Males weigh about 6.2 g (0.22 oz) and females 5.6 g (0.20 oz). Both sexes have a short, needle-like bill. Adult males of the nominate subspecies are mostly bottle green with a white dot behind the eye and rufous forecrown and crown. It has black primaries, a coppery rump, and white undertail coverts. The forked tail is blue-black with prominent white tips at the corners that are most easily seen from below. Its gorget ("beard") is a rainbow of colors from celadon-green through turquoise to yellow and red at the lower end. Voice: There are few recordings of the rainbow-bearded thornbill's vocalizations. What might be a song is a "repeated low-pitched cheet-dee-dee-cheet".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ryan F. Mandelbaum · CC BY 4.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Blue-mantled Thornbill and Rainbow-bearded Thornbill.