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Project Noah Nature School
Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
This little sweetie was about 150 mm long. He had a black crown which extended as a crescent on either side of the head and down his upper breast. The rest of his throat was a crisp white with a clear rufous patch in the middle. He had a slender, long and curved black bill and shiny dark brown eyes. The nape and sides were a rufous colour. Wing feathers were grey with a white outer edge. The colour tapered off to black along the tail.
They are seen along southern australia and along the Queensland coast. They frequent places were blossoms are in abundance and in winter. This one was spotted (with his mate -pic # 5) in our front garden and on a black wattle which is in full-bloom.
The female ( part visible in pic #5) is duller in colour with a fainter crescent on breast and a grey crown. Usually we see these birds shoot through like bullets through our back garden after visiting our fuschia bush. I was so lucky that he and his mate decided to hang around for awhile on the black wattle until I got my camera and calmed down enough to take a few shots. I hope you enjoy these pictures of this gorgeous little honey eater !!
Spotted on Jul 3, 2012
Submitted on Jul 3, 2012
15 Comments
Very Beautiful!
Thanks Antonio. I was very lucky - they are usually difficult to photograph, not with my camera anyway !!
Beautiful Leuba,lovely bird,congrats and thanks for sharing :)
So beautiful!!!
Hi Leuba, I got lucky with this youngster. All the adult birds here are gone before I can get them in focus. This fellow fledged here, so I've always been a fixture in his life. That seems to have made him more accepting of my presence. And Yes, I have a Nikon DSLR, so that helps with picture clarity. Cheers.
sorry I missed your posting lori.tas. Being a late comer to PN, I have missed some great early spottings. Need to take time to go through all.
Your bird looks crisp and well detailed. Must be my little pocket camera -given it a softer fuzzier look.
Yes, argybee always said "I can hear a trolley-wheel" but we could never catch them sitting still - this one was truly amazing.
That's a great auditory analogy for their squeaks, Argy.
Great Lori. I love the slight variations in colour and pattern as you move around this country. Yours has fabulous red eyes and different cheek pattern. I call these birds 'shopping trolley wheels' because of the squeaking sound they make. :)
These birds are so stunning. I think of them as Australia's humming birds. While they can't hover, they are equally frenetic in going from flower to flower. I posted this young Spinebill ( http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/265...) as one of my very first spottings.
Thanks everyone - we thought we might lose the wattle tree to borers but it's held on and full of flowers this winter and obviously very attractive to these humming-bird like spinebills.
Wonderful series Leuba!
A wonderful new bird, glad you were able to get some photos!
great info and lovely spotting and bird!
Lovely bird,
Nice spotting and info !!