The little wattlebird (''Anthochaera chrysoptera''), also known as the brush wattlebird, is a

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...

bird in the

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Gui ...

family

Meliphagidae The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are m ...

. It is found in coastal and sub-coastal south-eastern

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Taxonomy

The little wattlebird was formally described by ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Merops chrysoptera''. The species is now placed in the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

'' Anthochaera'' that was introduced by

Nicholas Aylward Vigors Nicholas Aylward Vigors (1785 – 26 October 1840) was an Ireland, Irish zoologist and politician. He popularized the classification of birds on the basis of the quinarian system. Early life Vigors was born at Old Leighlin, County Carlow, in 1 ...

and

Thomas Horsfield Thomas Horsfield (May 12, 1773 – July 24, 1859) was an American physician and natural history, naturalist who worked extensively in Indonesia, describing numerous species of plants and animals from the region. He was later a curator of the Eas ...

in 1827. The generic name ''Anthochaera'' derives from the Ancient Greek ''anthos'' 'flower, bloom' and ''khairō'' 'enjoy'; the specific epithet ''chrysoptera'' derives from Ancient Greek ''khrysos'' 'gold' and ''pteron'' 'wing'. The

International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", ...

recognise three

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

: * ''A. c. chrysoptera'' (Latham, 1801) – eastern and southeastern Australia * ''A. c. halmaturina'' ( Mathews, 1912) –

Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...

(South Australia) * ''A. c. tasmanica'' (Mathews, 1912) –

Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...

The

western wattlebird The western wattlebird (''Anthochaera lunulata'') is a passerine bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It is restricted to south-western Australia. Taxonomy The species description was published by John Gould in 1838, from a specimen c ...

(''A. lunulata'') was at one time considered as the subspecies ''A. c. lunulata''. Little wattlebird on eucalypt

Description

The little wattlebird is a medium to large honeyeater, but the smallest wattlebird.Birds in Backyards - Little Wattlebird
/ref> The appearance is similar to the

yellow wattlebird The yellow wattlebird (''Anthochaera paradoxa'') is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. Other names include the long wattlebird or Tasmanian wattlebird. Taxonomy French zoologist François Marie Daudin described the yellow ...

and the

red wattlebird The red wattlebird (''Anthochaera carunculata'') is a passerine bird native to southern Australia. At in length, it is the second largest species of Australian honeyeater. It has mainly grey-brown plumage, with red eyes, distinctive pinkish-re ...

. The little wattlebird lacks the wattles, which characterise other members of the genus. Juveniles are duller with less streaking and have a browner eye. Calls include a strident ''cookay-cok'', a raucous ''fetch the gun'', a mellow guttural ''yekkop, yekkop'' and many squeaky, musical lilting notes. The alarm call is a ''kwock'' or ''shnairt!''.

Distribution and habitat

The little wattlebird is found in

banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...

eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

woodlands,

heathland A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...

s, tea-tree scrub, sandplain-heaths,

lantana ''Lantana'' () is a genus of about 150 species of perennial plant, perennial flowering plants in the verbena family, Verbenaceae. They are native to tropics, tropical regions of the Americas and Africa but exist as an introduced species in num ...

thickets, wild tobacco, parks and gardens.

Behaviour

Anthochaera chrysoptera feeding nestlings

Breeding

Breeding takes place from June to December. The female wattlebird generally constructs the nest, which is a loose, untidy cup of twigs, lined with shredded bark, and placed from 1 to 10 m high in the fork of a

, tea-tree or

sapling. 1-2 eggs are laid and may be spotted red-brown, purplish-red or salmon-pink in colour. The female incubates the eggs alone but both parents care for the young chicks.

Feeding

Little wattlebirds feed on nectar obtained with a long, brush-tipped tongue, adapted for probing deep into flowers. They also feed on insects, berries, and some seeds. Most feeding is done perched, but some insects are caught in mid-air. Birds may feed alone or in groups.

References

External links

Recordings of little wattlebird
from Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology Macaulay Library
Recordings of little wattlebird
from Xen-canto sound archive
Images of little wattlebird
from Graeme Chapman's photo library {{Taxonbar, from=Q1588271 little wattlebird Birds of Queensland Birds of New South Wales Birds of South Australia Birds of Tasmania Birds of Victoria (state) Endemic birds of Australia little wattlebird