Striated Fieldwren

The Striated Fieldwren is often referred to by its scientific name, ‘Calamanthus’ as in Calamanthus fuliginosus. (Calamanthus is Greek for ‘stubble pipit’ and fuligo is Latin for ‘soot’).

The bird is endemic to southern Australia and inhabits dense heath, grasslands and salt marsh.

For most of the time, the Striated Fieldwren forages at ground level and is fairly shy, remaining hidden. Every now and then, one will come to the top of a nearby shrub and sing which happened today. After traipsing for an hour or so through the salt marsh of Reef Island Reserve at the end of Bass Landing Rd without reward, I returned to the ute only to have my cuppa interrupted by a Striated Fieldwren singing from just a few metres away.

A couple of birds continued to fly in out of the shrubbery, sometimes pausing on top of a bush for their picture to be taken. When they were on the ground, their camouflage made them almost disappear.

As far as I can determine, Calamanthus fuliginosus is not listed in Victoria’s Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act or the Commonwealth’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act. In NSW it is listed as Endangered. Many references however state the opinion that populations are in decline due mainly to - you guessed it - habitat loss.