- Acanthagenys rufogularis
Identification
- Grey crown scalloped brown
- Mottled grey-brown back
- White cheek with spiny bristles to below the ear
- Orange-brown throat and chest
- White underparts streaked brown
- Grey wings with white-edged feathers
- Dark grey-brown white tipped long tail
- Pale blue-grey eye surrounded by bare pinkish skin
- Pink bill has a black tip
Young birds: are browner and have yellow cheek spines.
Distribution
Interior of Australia, to coasts in south and west
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Some authorities recognise two subspecies: Acanthagenys rufogularis rufogularis and Acanthagenys rufogularis parkeri[2]
Habitat
Dry shrubland, mallee and acacia scrub, coastal scrubs, woodlands along rivers and, occasionally, mangroves. May be found in orchards.
Behaviour
Diet
Their diet consists mainly of fruit, nectar and arthropods (insects and spiders), along with some seeds. They occasionally take small reptiles and baby birds.
Breeding
They construct a deep, suspended, cup-shaped nest of plant fibres and grasses bound with spider webs and lined with soft materials. The female incubates the eggs alone, but both sexes feed and care for the young.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2016. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2016, with updates to August 2016. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- BirdsinBackyards
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Spiny-cheeked_Honeyeater
External Links
