Cinnamon Quail-thrush (Cinclosoma cinnamomeum) is a Saltbursh and blue bush shrub steppe on stony ground, whether hardpan, gibber plain, or low rolling ridges. It is the habitat of the Cinnamon Quail-thrush on the Nullarbor Plain and central Lake Eyre basin. Smallest of the quail-thrushes and plumper with a disproportionately shorter tail than that of the closely related Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush, it lives almost its entire life on the ground, under conditions of extreme temperature and exposure.
Out of breeding, the quail thrushes wander locally, singly, in pairs, or in small, loose groups of up to six, foraging across the plains. Feeding birds walk slowly, body hunched, lifting their feet deliberately and meandering in diverse directions, circling and back-tracking, picking food, insects, and seeds as they go. Contact is kept with sporadic, thin, high whistles. To find food, they will dig the bill into the ground and shift it from side to side or overturn stones.
The large prey is grasped and pinned to the ground by one foot while being dismembered with the bill. If alerted, the bird stands up, craning, flicking, and fanning its tail, and then lowers its head as if ready to take flight. If flushed, it whirrs up and dashes away in rocketing undulating bursts, its part-fanned white-tipped tail flashing.
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Often, they hide beneath bushes. Breeding pairs maintain a local territory. Early in the season, males sing less much-the Nullarbor birds sing less—during the day stationed on top of a small shrub; later, they sing less as their territories firm. The female builds the nest, incubates, and broods, but when returning after a break, she may be accompanied by her mate to within 10 meters of the nest. He helps feed the young.
It is also known as Nullarbor Quail-thrush and Cinnamon Ground-bird. The size of the cinnamon quail-thrush is 180–210 mm in length; however, the male is slightly larger. MALE: Head rufous-brown (Nullarbor) to grey-brown (Lake Eyre), grading to mid-rufous-brown overall upper parts. Wings and coverts are black, broadly tipped white; outer flight feathers are dusky, edged pale rufous. Tail feathers except for the central rufous pair are black, and the outer four pairs are tipped broadly white. White-cream eyebrow and broad white stripe over cheeks to sides of the neck. Lores, throat, and all breasts are black (Nullarbor), or divided by a broad white-cinnamon band on the upper breast (Lake Eyre). The belly is to undertail white, flecked black at the sides; flanks cinnamon.
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Female: Wing coverts are duskier, face greyer, cheek stripes cream-buff, extending over the grey throat, breast pale grey-fawn (Lake Eyre), darker (Nullarbor). Belly to undertail white; flanks pale rufous. Eyes are brown; bill black; feet mid-deep grey. The immature bird has dusky speckling on the upper parts, buff cast over the breast, and sparse dusky flecking from the center of the throat to all breasts and flanks. Adult plumage gained at the first annual molt.
The call of Cinnamon Quail-thrush is several thin, very high-pitched slurred whistles, in contact and alarm. The cinnamon quail-thrush song consists of a series of short, soft, but far-carrying monotone whistles on the same pitch.
Nesting and breeding occur regularly in July–September, as well as other times depending on rain. Nest a shallow scrape, under a bush or against a tussock or boulder, formed of bark strips, grass, and debris, into the cup. Eggs: two, three; pale cream-grey spotted with browns and grays; oblong-oval, about 28 x 20 mm. Incubation by females.
As far as distribution is concerned, cinnamon quail-thrush is found at Saltbush-blue bush steppe on Nullarbor Plain and central Lake Eyre basin, southwest to Gawler Ranges, SA, and east to lower Cooper-Diamantina drainage, Queensland. There are two races, one in each region.
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