Difference between revisions of "Noisy Miner" - BirdForum Opus

Latest revision as of 17:05, 24 March 2023

Nominate subspecies
Photo © by jimmclean
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 25 March 2005

Manorina melanocephala

Identification

Juveniles
Photo © by David M Sargeant
Marcoola on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia, 28 December 2016

24–28 cm (9½-11 in)

Adult has grey back, tail and breast
White underparts
White scalloping on the nape, hind-neck and breast
Off-white forehad and lores
Black band over the crown and cheeks
Bright orange-yellow bill, legs and feet
Distinctive patch of yellow skin behind the eye
Prominent white tip to the tail
Narrow olive-yellow wing panel

Sexes are similar. Juvenile is similar to the adult but with a softer plumage, brownish tinge to the black on its head and the grey on its back, and a duller, greyish-yellow skin patch behind the eye.

Similar Species

Yellow-throated Miner has a grey crown, white rump, and a line of bare yellow skin on the sides of the throat. The introduced Common Myna is is mostly dark brown and, although it has similar facial markings, it belongs to the starling family, while the miners are honeyeaters.

Distribution

Australia: found in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Tasmania.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

Ssp. M. m. melanocephala
Photo © by colonelboris
Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 13 September 2009

This is a polytypic species. There are four subspecies.¹

M. m. titaniota: interior of southern Cape York Peninsula, northeastern Queensland

Shorter tail, paler crown, larger yellow skin patch, and paler upper parts without the yellow-olive of the nominate subspecies.

M. m. lepidota: Burdekin River (Queensland) to southwestern New South Wales, eastern Australia

Smaller than the nominate race with a black crown, and darker more mottled upperparts.

M. m. melanocephala: central New South Wales to southern Victoria and southeastern South Australia, southeastern Australia

Heavier scalloping on hind-neck, smaller yellow skin patch and yellow-olive upperparts.

M. m. leachi: eastern Tasmania

Finer scalloping on the hind-neck than the nominate race, a more intense yellow tinge to the wing panels, and a slightly broader off-white tip to the tail

Habitat

Woodlands and open forests. They have also become well adapted to suburban situations and are commonly seen in parks and gardens.

Behaviour

Actions

These highly social birds are very aggressive and often drive away other species. Their hyper-aggressive colonial strategy has caused declines in a number of endangered or rare species.

Diet

Their main diet consists of invertebrates and nectar, with the addition of seeds and fruit. Occasionally they will also eat small reptiles and frogs.

Breeding

The female constructs the nest and incubates the eggs alone, but both sexes will care for and feed the young birds. Additional 'helpers' usually also feed the young. These helpers are almost always male birds.

Vocalisation

They have a noisy and complex repertoire including at least twelve different adult vocalizations, and a dawn song. Most calls are loud and penetrating consisting of harsh single notes.

Movements

Generally sedentary with limited dispersal to and from colonies. In some areas systematic culling has been used to remove them, but in most cases they recolonize.

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of Birds of the World: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
NSW.gov.aus
Higgins, P., Christidis, L. & Ford, H. (2019). Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/60318 on 17 December 2019).
Vickers, J. A. T. (2017) Demographic shifts in Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) populations following removal, BEnviSc Hons, School of Earth & Environmental Science, University of Wollongong. https://ro.uow.edu.au/thsci/145

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Noisy Miner. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 6 May 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Noisy_Miner

External Links

Search for photos of Noisy Miner in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-;Manorina melanocephala
+[[Image:Noisy_Miner.jpg|thumb|400px|right|Nominate subspecies<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|jimmclean|jimmclean}}<br/>Sydney, [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]], 25 March 2005]]
-[[Image:Noisy_Miner.jpg|thumb|450px|right|Photo by jimmclean]]
+;[[:Category:Manorina|Manorina]] melanocephala
 ==Identification==
-Photo taken: Sydney, Australia
+[[Image:The noisy miner Manorina melanocephala 3.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Juveniles<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|peterpeterpumpkineater|David M Sargeant}}<br />Marcoola on the Sunshine Coast, [[Queensland]], [[Australia]], 28 December 2016]]
+–28 cm (9½-11 in)
+*'''Adult''' has grey back, tail and breast
+*White underparts
+*White scalloping on the nape, hind-neck and breast
+*Off-white forehad and lores
+*Black band over the crown and cheeks
+*Bright orange-yellow bill, legs and feet
+*Distinctive patch of yellow skin behind the eye
+*Prominent white tip to the tail
+*Narrow olive-yellow wing panel
+Sexes are similar. '''Juvenile''' is similar to the adult but with a softer plumage, brownish tinge to the black on its head and the grey on its back, and a duller, greyish-yellow skin patch behind the eye.
+====Similar Species====
+[[Yellow-throated Miner]] has a grey crown, white rump, and a line of bare yellow skin on the sides of the throat. The introduced [[Common Myna]]
+is is mostly dark brown and, although it has similar facial markings, it belongs to the starling family, while the miners are honeyeaters.
-The Noisy Miner is a bold and curious bird. It is identified by its mostly grey body and black crown and cheeks. The bill is yellow, as are the legs and the naked skin behind the eye. The name is well suited as the common calls - loud 'pwee pwee pwee' and a piping 'pee pee pee' when alarmed - are uttered repeatedly by the members of the colony.
+==Distribution==
+[[Australia]]: found in [[New South Wales]], [[Queensland]], [[South Australia]], [[Victoria]], and [[Tasmania]].
+==Taxonomy==
+====Subspecies====
+[[Image:Noisy miner dust bath.jpg|thumb|350px|right|''Ssp. M. m. melanocephala''<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|colonelboris|colonelboris}}<br />Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, [[New South Wales]], [[Australia]], 13 September 2009]]
-Despite their moderate size (28 cm), Noisy Miners aggressively attack larger birds such as hawks and kookaburras. These attacks may be so vigorous that most other birds are excluded from an area occupied by Noisy Miners.
+This is a [[Dictionary_P-S#P|polytypic]] species. There are four subspecies.<sup>[[#References|1]]</sup>
+*''M. m. titaniota'': interior of southern Cape York Peninsula, northeastern [[Queensland]]
+:Shorter tail, paler crown, larger yellow skin patch, and paler upper parts without the yellow-olive of the nominate subspecies.
+*''M. m. lepidota'': Burdekin River (Queensland) to southwestern New South Wales, eastern [[Australia]]
+: Smaller than the nominate race with a black crown, and darker more mottled upperparts.
+*''M. m. melanocephala'': central New South Wales to southern Victoria and southeastern South Australia, southeastern [[Australia]]
+: Heavier scalloping on hind-neck, smaller yellow skin patch and yellow-olive upperparts.
+*''M. m. leachi'': eastern [[Tasmania]]
+: Finer scalloping on the hind-neck than the nominate race, a more intense yellow tinge to the wing panels, and a slightly broader off-white tip to the tail
-The similar Yellow-throated Miner, M. flavigula, has a grey crown, white rump, and a line of bare yellow skin on the sides of the throat.
+==Habitat==
+Woodlands and open forests. They have also become well adapted to suburban situations and are commonly seen in parks and gardens.
-People often confuse miners with the introduced Common Myna, Acridotheres tristis. The Common Myna is quite different in plumage (mostly dark brown) and, although it has similar facial markings, belongs to the starling family, while the miners are honeyeaters.
-==Distribution==
-Noisy Miners range from northern Queensland along the eastern coast to South Australia and Tasmania.
-==Taxonomy==
-==Habitat==
-They are found in woodlands and open forests. They have also become well adapted to suburban situations and are a common sight in parks and gardens.
 ==Behaviour==
-The Noisy Miner feeds on nectar, fruits and insects. Very occasionally they will eat small reptiles and amphibians. Food is either taken from trees or on the ground. In keeping with its highly social nature, the Noisy Miner usually feeds in large groups.
+====Actions====
+These highly social birds are very aggressive and often drive away other species. Their hyper-aggressive colonial strategy has caused declines in a number of endangered or rare species.
+====Diet====
+[[Image:Noisy Miner (in flight) by Stanchec33 (replacement).jpg|thumb|350px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|Stanchec33|Stanchec33}}<br />Melbourne, [[Victoria]], [[Australia]], 20 November 2022]]
+Their main diet consists of invertebrates and nectar, with the addition of seeds and fruit. Occasionally they will also eat small reptiles and frogs.
+====Breeding====
+The female constructs the nest and incubates the eggs alone, but both sexes will care for and feed the young birds. Additional 'helpers' usually also feed the young. These helpers are almost always male birds.
+====Vocalisation====
+They have a noisy and complex repertoire including at least twelve different adult vocalizations, and a dawn song. Most calls are loud and penetrating consisting of harsh single notes.
+====Movements====
+Generally sedentary with limited dispersal to and from colonies.  In some areas systematic culling has been used to remove them, but in most cases they recolonize.
+==References==
+#{{Ref-Clements6thOct22}}#[https://www.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au/live/animals/wildlife/home-is-where-the-habitat-is/common-myna-and-noisy-miner NSW.gov.aus]
+#Higgins, P., Christidis, L. & Ford, H. (2019). Noisy Miner (''Manorina melanocephala''). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/60318 on 17 December 2019).
+#Vickers, J. A. T. (2017) Demographic shifts in Noisy Miner (''Manorina melanocephala'') populations following removal, BEnviSc Hons, School of Earth & Environmental Science, University of Wollongong. https://ro.uow.edu.au/thsci/145
+{{ref}}
-Breeding
+==External Links==
-Noisy Miners breed in small to large colonies. The season extends from July to December and several broods may be reared in this time. The female constructs the nest and incubates the eggs alone, but both sexes will care for and feed the young birds. Additional 'helpers' usually also feed the young. Interestingly, these helpers are almost always male birds.
+{{GSearch|"Manorina melanocephala" {{!}} "Noisy Miner"}}
+{{GS-checked}}1
+<br />
+<br />
-==External Links==
+[[Category:Birds]] [[Category:Manorina]]
-*[http://www.birdforum.net/pp_gallery/data/528/1568noisy_minerDSC_00941-thumb.JPG View more images of Noisy Miner in the gallery]
-[[Category:Birds]]