Black-eared Miner
Manorina melanotis
Rare, medium-sized honeyeater found only in a few areas with dense intact mallee woodland (such as Gluepot Reserve). Grayish brown above, paler gray below, with pale gray crown, yellow bill, yellow eye patch, and a dark cheek patch. Hybridizes with Yellow-throated Miner, which makes identification difficult, as hybrids show a mix of the features of both species. In Black-eared, the moustache is darker than the throat (moustache is paler in Yellow-throated) and the cheek patch entirely black (patch has silver flecks in Yellow-throated). In flight, note the rump is the same color as the back and tail (rump is paler in Yellow-throated). Aggressive and territorial; lives in colonies and vigorously defends the territory area against pretty much anything that moves.
Identification
The black-eared miner (Manorina melanotis) is an endangered honeyeater endemic to mallee woodland in south-eastern Australia.
Taxonomy
Manorina melanotis was identified by Francis Erasmus Wilson in 1911. It is closely related to the much more widely distributed yellow-throated miner M. flavigula, and the taxonomic status of the black-eared miner is the subject of some controversy, with some researchers considering it a subspecies of M. flavigula.
- Scientific name
- Manorina melanotis
- Authority
- (Wilson, FE, 1911)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Manorina
Range and habitat
IBA (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas), identified by BirdLife International as being important for black-eared miner conservation, are areas containing relatively intact, mallee woodland in north-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. They comprise Murray-Sunset, Hattah and Annuello, the Riverland Mallee, and Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Choco Black-throated Trogon
Trogon cupreicauda
Yellow-bellied trogon with yellowish eyering and bill. Male has shimmering green-blue upperparts and chest; female is brown. Underside of tail barred black and white with large white tips. Upperside of tail usually coppery-green (browner on female). Found in forested areas, usually sitting still at low to middle heights (often lower than other trogons in range). Male from Gartered Trogon by head and chest color (greener, not cobalt blue), yellower bill, and voice. Brown color of female is distinctive, unlike slaty-gray of female Gartered. Listen for song, a slow, evenly-spaced series of 5-9 slurred whistled notes.
Green Sandpiper
Tringa ochropus
Dark brown sandpiper with a snowy white belly; in flight looks black above with boldly contrasting white rump. Bobs tail when nervous, but not habitually like Common Sandpiper. Often climbs steeply when flushed and flies quickly with deep wingbeats, swooping around a little like a swallow. Breeds in clearings and marshes in wet forest and woodland; migrants occur in fresh and brackish wetland habitats, especially on muddy shores of lakes and small ponds. Mainly found as singles or small groups, not mixed with other species.
Dusky-capped Woodcreeper
Lepidocolaptes fuscicapillus
Small, slender woodcreeper with a pale curved bill. Heavy white streaking on underparts, but has unstreaked rufous upperparts. Found in humid lowland forests and old second growth, where it forages in the canopy and usually associates with mixed-species flocks. Gives its presence away by its far-carrying song, a descending series of notes: “ti, ti, ti-ti-tee-tee-teh-teh-tutututututu.” Widespread in southern Amazonia, mainly in Brazil and eastern Bolivia.
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