Noisy Miner
Manorina melanocephala· 吸蜜鸟科(4 photos)
Noisy Miner
24-27 cm. Immediately separated from other miners by whitish forehead, black crown and cheeks. In flight, rump grey, dark tail tipped whitish. Colonial, aggressive, with noisy group displays; forages in foliage, blossoms; probes bark; often on ground. Male has steep song-flight. Normal flight level, glides on upraised wings. Nesting females fly with heads raised.
- Other name
- Micky; Soldierbird.
- Similar Species
- Yellow-throated, Black-eared Miners.
- Voice
- complaining 'pwee pwee pwee'; chuckling 'weedidit'; liquid notes. Alarm call: strident 'pee, pee, pee'.
- Habitat
- grassy open forests, woodlands, without shrub-layer; large trees on inland watercourses; coastal banksias, paperbarks, heaths, shelter belts, roadside timber, golf courses, outer suburbs, parks, gardens.
- Breeding
- communally, June-Dec. also March-April.
- Nest
- untidy cup of twigs, grass, spiders' web, wool; in fork of leafy branch, 2-13 m high.
- Eggs
- 2-4; buff-white, pink; freckled, spotted, blotched red-brown, blue-grey, lilac.
- Range & Status
- e. Aust. and ce. Tas.: n. to c. Musgrave (e. C. York Pen., (Q)); w. to Mt Lofty Ras.-Adelaide, Yorke Pen. (SA). Common. Sedentary, with local movements.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Manorina melanocephala titaniota 2. Manorina melanocephala melanocephala 3. Manorina melanocephala leachi
