Noisy Miner
Manorina melanocephala
Conservation Status
Least ConcernAves · Passeriformes · Meliphagidae
About
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.
Fun Fact
Noisy Miners aggressively mob and evict virtually all other small bird species from their territories, making them a major driver of songbird decline in Australian woodland.
Quick Facts
Habitat
Degraded patches of forest
Diet
Eats nectar, fruit, and insects, and occasionally it feeds on small reptiles or amphibians.
Lifespan
To be updated
Threats
- Habitat Change
- Human Disturbance