Australian golden whistler

Australian golden whistler
Male
Female, Queensland, Australia
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Pachycephalidae
Genus: Pachycephala
Species:
P. pectoralis
Binomial name
Pachycephala pectoralis
(Latham, 1801)
Subspecies

See text

Synonyms
  • Muscicapa pectoralis
  • Pachycephala gutturalis

The Australian golden whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis) or golden whistler, is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia (except the interior and most of the north). Most populations are resident, but some in south-eastern Australia migrate north during the winter. Its taxonomy is highly complex and remains a matter of dispute, with some authorities including as many as 59 subspecies of the golden whistler (one of the highest numbers of subspecies in any bird), while others treat several of these as separate species. This bird is also known as White-Throated Thickhead in older books.