Noisy Miners

Noisy Miners

Post
Subscribe

Posted 2022-06-19 by Neil Follettfollow
You don't have to leave home to become aware of noisy miners. You may find them on your property and even a short street walk you are liable to see some.


The noisy miner (Manorina melanocephala) is a bird in the honeyeater family and is endemic to eastern and south-eastern 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.


As their 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.


The noisy miner is a notably aggressive bird, so that chasing, pecking, fighting, scolding, and mobbing occur throughout the day, targeted at both intruders and colony members. I have observed noisy miners chasing and harassing sulphur crested cockatoos who are many times their size.


On one of my street walks I was photographing a rainbow lorikeet feeding on a protea flower when harassed by a noisy miner. The lorikeet ignored the intrusion but eventually left. Pity, as there were enough proteas to go around.


Foraging in the canopy of trees, on trunks and branches, and on the ground, the noisy miner mainly eats nectar, fruit, and insects. Most time is spent gleaning the foliage of eucalypts, and it can meet most of its nutritional needs from manna, honeydew, and lerp, which a sweet waxy secretion found on the leaves of eucalyptus trees.


They have two broad-frequency alarm calls that are used when intruders enter their territory, or when predators (including humans) are sighted; and a narrow-frequency alarm call that is primarily used when airborne predators are seen. I have observed when approaching a treed area and there are noisy miners about, they live up to their name noisily circling overhead and then retiring to nearby trees to watch me.


And watch they do, or rather stare. I call it a death stare, as their black head and forward thrust beak oozes intimidation.







Returning their stare is entertaining as they feed in trees hanging precariously from branches.


They can be real posers when just perched and looking around. They seem to perch anywhere.




A particularly interesting photo was of one preening and catching one hopping was a nice experience.




They are a very active bird and the opportunity to catch them in flight often arise as most birds when approached fly off away from the camera.


They are not related to the introduced pest bird, the Indian myna.


They may be noisy, intimidating and aggressive to other birds, but they are a delight to watch.

#free
#fun_things_to_do
#nature
#outdoor
#things_to_see
#victoria
%wnmelbourne
117166 - 2023-06-12 19:43:49

Tags

Free
Festivals
Outdoor
Music
Markets
Nightlife
Fundraisers
Family_friendly
Community
Arts_culture
Food_drink
Educational
Random
Theatre_shows
Shopping_markets
Copyright 2024 OatLabs ABN 18113479226