Other items eaten include spiders, flies and seeds. The yellow-rumped thornbill is insectivorous major prey items include ants, beetles, bugs and lerps. The species inhabits a wide range of habitats, including open forest and woodland, grasslands, savannah and scrubland. The species has a wide distribution across western, southern and eastern Australia as well as Tasmania it is absent from the north coast of Western Australia, parts of central Australia, northern Queensland and central and northern Northern Territory.

The species is also reported to be an accomplished mimic of other birds, in particular mimicking the alarm calls of the noisy miner. The yellow-rumped thornbill has a distinctive song described as 'twittering, musical, sweet, high-pitched'. The plumage varies somewhat, depending on subspecies. The wings are grey and the tail is black. The belly is white with light buff below the wings. The species has a distinctive yellow rump, a black forehead with white spots, grey head and neck, a white line above the eye and white throat. It has a short tail and a long slender bill. The yellow-rumped thornbill is the largest species of thornbill, 9.5–12 cm (3.7–4.7 in) long and weighing 9 g (0.32 oz). Butterbum is a colloquial name used by Australian birdwatchers.Ī 2017 genetic study using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA found the yellow-rumped thornbill was an early offshoot within the thornbill genus, its ancestor diverging from that of all other thornbills just over 10 million years ago. Four subspecies are recognised: the nominate chrysorrhoa of Western Australia, leachi of Tasmania, leighi of eastern Australia, and normantoni of central and northern Australia. The specific epithet derives from Ancient Greek khrysos 'gold' and orrhos 'rump'. The yellow-rumped thornbill was described as Saxicola chrysorrhoa by the French naturalists Jean René Constant Quoy and Joseph Paul Gaimard in 1830, from a specimen collected in King George Sound.

The species engages in cooperative breeding. It inhabits savannah, scrub and forests across most of Australia and eats insects. It is a small, brownish bird with a distinctive yellow rump and thin dark bill. There are four subspecies of yellow-rumped thornbill. The genus was once placed in the family Pardalotidae but that family was split and it is now in the family Acanthizidae. The yellow-rumped thornbill ( Acanthiza chrysorrhoa) is a species of passerine bird from the genus Acanthiza. chrysorrhoa - (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832)ĭistribution of the yellow-rumped thornbill

Yellow rumped