| Yellow wattlebird | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Meliphagidae |
| Genus: | Anthochaera |
| Species: | A. paradoxa |
| Binomial name | |
| Anthochaera paradoxa (Daudin, 1800) | |
| Synonyms | |
Corvus paradoxusDaudin, 1800 | |
The yellow wattlebird (Anthochaera paradoxa) is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. [1] Other names include the long wattlebird or Tasmanian wattlebird. [2]
French zoologist François Marie Daudin described the yellow wattlebird in 1800 as Corvus paradoxus.
The generic name Anthochaera derives from the Ancient Greek anthos 'flower, bloom' and khairō 'enjoy'. [3] The specific epithet paradoxa derives from the Ancient Greek paradoxos meaning 'strange, extraordinary'. [3]
The yellow wattlebird is the largest of the honeyeaters, [4] and is endemic to Tasmania. They are usually 37.5–45 centimetres (14.8–17.7 in) long. [2] Body mass in males averages 168 g (5.9 oz) and in females averages 123 g (4.3 oz), with the largest males weighing up to 260 g (9.2 oz). [5] [6] They are named for the wattles hanging from the cheeks. [7] Yellow wattlebirds are slim birds with a short, strong bill. [8] They have a white face and black-streaked crown. [4] They also have a long, pendulous yellow-orange wattle. [4] The wattle becomes brighter during the breeding season. [8] They have dark wings and a yellow belly, [4] whereas the upperparts are grey to dusky brown. [2] The female yellow wattlebird is much smaller than the male. [4] The young yellow wattlebirds have much smaller wattles, a paler head, and a browner underbelly than the adult birds. [8]
The yellow wattlebird is similar in appearance to the little wattlebird and the red wattlebird.
Yellow wattlebirds are common in Tasmania, especially in the eastern and central areas. [8] They are uncommon on King Island, and two possible sightings recorded on the southern Mornington Peninsula in Victoria lack material evidence. [2]
Yellow wattlebirds live in a variety of habitats including both dry and wet forests, and from sea level to the subalpine zone. [8] They live in coastal heaths, forests and gardens near Eucalyptus trees. [4] They also can be found in mountain shrubberies and open woodlands, particularly those dominated by Banksia . [2] They have also been known to occur on golf courses, and in orchards, parks and gardens. [2]
Yellow wattlebirds are active and acrobatic with a strong flight. [2] They are fairly tame birds and often enter gardens looking for food. [2]
Harsh, raucous and grating, their calls have often been compared to a person coughing or belching, [2] with a gurgling growk or repeated clok sound [7]
Yellow wattlebirds feed on the nectar of eucalypts and banksias, fruit, insects, spiders, honeydew, honey bees on the flight and manna (crystallised plant sap). [9] They forage at all levels from the ground to the canopy. [8] However, the blossoming of eucalyptus trees can be highly irregular in time and place, causing considerable changes from year to year in the breeding distribution of yellow wattlebirds, which rely on their nectar as a main source of food. [10] Therefore, the most likely threat to the yellow wattlebird is unusual climatic conditions that can reduce food availability suddenly. [9] Yellow wattlebirds can pollinate eucalyptus trees by carrying pollen in their bills or on the feathers of their heads. [11]
Yellow wattlebirds nest in breeding pairs and aggressively defend their territories from other birds. [8] The nest of the yellow wattlebird is made by the female alone, [8] and is a large, open saucer-shaped structure made of twigs and bark that are bound by wool. [2] The inside of the nest is lined with wool and grass. [2] The nests can be up to 13 centimetres (5.1 in) high and are found in trees or shrubs. [2] Yellow wattlebirds lay 2–3 eggs that are salmon-red, spotted and blotched red-brown, purplish-red and blue-grey. [2] Both the males and females incubate the egg and feed the young. [8]
The regent honeyeater is a critically endangered bird endemic to southeastern Australia. It is commonly considered a flagship species within its range, with the efforts going into its conservation having positive effects on many other species that share its habitat. Recent genetic research suggests it is closely related to the wattlebirds.
The red wattlebird is a passerine bird native to southern Australia. At 33–37 cm in length, it is the second largest species of Australian honeyeater. It has mainly grey-brown plumage, with red eyes, distinctive pinkish-red wattles on either side of the neck, white streaks on the chest and a large bright yellow patch on the lower belly. The sexes are similar in plumage. Juveniles have less prominent wattles and browner eyes. John White described the red wattlebird in 1790. Three subspecies are recognized.
The noisy miner is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow patch behind the eye, and white tips on the tail feathers. The Tasmanian subspecies has a more intense yellow panel in the wing, and a broader white tip to the tail. Males, females and juveniles are similar in appearance, though young birds are a brownish-grey. As the common name suggests, the noisy miner is a vocal species with a large range of songs, calls, scoldings and alarms, and almost constant vocalisations, particularly from young birds. One of four species in the genus Manorina, the noisy miner itself is divided into four subspecies. The separation of the Tasmanian M. m. leachi is of long standing, and the mainland birds were further split in 1999.
Anthochaera is a genus of birds in the honeyeater family. The species are endemic to Australia and include the little wattlebird, the red wattlebird, the western wattlebird, and the yellow wattlebird. A molecular phylogenetic study has shown that the regent honeyeater also belongs in this genus.
The little wattlebird, also known as the brush wattlebird, is a passerine bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is found in coastal and sub-coastal south-eastern Australia.
The blue-faced honeyeater, also colloquially known as the Bananabird, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It is the only member of its genus, and it is most closely related to honeyeaters of the genus Melithreptus. Three subspecies are recognised. At around 29.5 cm (11.6 in) in length, the blue-faced species is large for a honeyeater. Its plumage is distinctive, with olive upperparts, white underparts, and a black head and throat with white nape and cheeks. Males and females are similar in external appearance. Adults have a blue area of bare skin on each side of the face readily distinguishing them from juveniles, which have yellow or green patches of bare skin.
The New Holland honeyeater is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia, and was initially named Certhia novaehollandiae.
The scarlet myzomela or scarlet honeyeater is a small passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to Australia. It was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801. At 9 to 11 cm long, it is the smallest honeyeater in Australia. It has a short tail and relatively long down-curved bill. It is sexually dimorphic; the male is a striking bright red with black wings, while the female is entirely brown. The species is more vocal than most honeyeaters, and a variety of calls have been recorded, including a bell-like tinkling.
The white-plumed honeyeater is a small passerine bird endemic to Australia. White-plumed honeyeaters are common around water and are often seen in backyards and suburbs with vegetation cover.
The yellow-faced honeyeater is a small to medium-sized bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It takes its common and scientific names from the distinctive yellow stripes on the sides of its head. Its loud, clear call often begins twenty or thirty minutes before dawn. It is widespread across eastern and southeastern Australia, in open sclerophyll forests from coastal dunes to high-altitude subalpine areas, and woodlands along creeks and rivers. Comparatively short-billed for a honeyeater, it is thought to have adapted to a diet of flies, spiders, and beetles, as well as nectar and pollen from the flowers of plants, such as Banksia and Grevillea, and soft fruits. It catches insects in flight as well as gleaning them from the foliage of trees and shrubs.
The white-cheeked honeyeater is a species of honeyeater that inhabits the east coast and the south-west corner of Australia. It has a large white patch on its cheek, brown eyes, and a yellow panel on its wing.
The yellow-tufted honeyeater is a passerine bird found in the south-east ranges of Australia. A predominantly black and yellow honeyeater, it is split into four subspecies.
The western spinebill is a honeyeater found in the heath and woodland of south-western Australia. Ranging between 12–16 centimetres (4.7–6.3 in) long, it weighs around 10 grams (0.35 oz). It has a black head, gray back and wings, with a red band behind its neck and from its throat to its breast. Its curved bill is long and slender.
The brown honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It belongs to the honeyeaters, a group of birds which have highly developed brush-tipped tongues adapted for nectar feeding. Honeyeaters are found mainly in Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia, but the brown honeyeater is unique in that it also occurs on the island of Bali, making it the only honeyeater to be found west of the Wallace Line, the biogeographical boundary between the Australian-Papuan and Oriental zoogeographical regions.
The spiny-cheeked honeyeater is the only species in the genus Acanthagenys. It is large for a honeyeater, ranging from 22 to 27 centimeters tall and weighing around 52 grams. The birds are sociable, aggressive, and often observed foraging in large flocks.
The crescent honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southeastern Australia. A member of the genus Phylidonyris, it is most closely related to the common New Holland honeyeater and the white-cheeked honeyeater. Two subspecies are recognized, with P. p. halmaturinus restricted in range to Kangaroo Island and the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia.
The mangrove honeyeater is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. The species was once considered to be conspecific with the varied honeyeater, but it is now treated as a separate species. These two species form a genus with the singing honeyeater.
The yellow-throated honeyeater is a species of passerine bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is similar in behaviour and appearance to the white-eared honeyeater and is endemic to Australia's island state of Tasmania. It was formerly considered a pest of orchards.
The western wattlebird is a passerine bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It is restricted to south-western Australia.
The Tasmanian temperate forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forests ecoregion in Australia. The ecoregion occupies the eastern portion of the island of Tasmania, which lies south of the Australian mainland.
