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Manorina melanocephala
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 are uttered repeatedly by the members of the colony. (Birdlife Australia)
This individual was not alone. There was a little group hanging around at and near the park bench my mum and I were sitting at, at a park in Nanango, QLD. The park has a small creek running parallel-ish to the road which kind of borders it from a private paddock.
I also watched a little mob in a tree near the park bench, get told off by or telling off a Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis), check out the little video (it was taken on the 16 March): https://youtu.be/aIQtS6ltZRM Unfortunately I didn't get a photo of the interaction but still glad I got this video :) Interesting reading from Wikipedia: "Noisy miners are gregarious and territorial [bold and particularly feisty]; they forage, bathe, roost, breed and defend territory communally, forming colonies that can contain several hundred birds. Each bird has an 'activity space' and birds with overlapping activity spaces form associations called 'coteries', the most stable units within the colony. The birds also form temporary flocks called 'coalitions' for specific activities such as mobbing a predator. Group cohesion is facilitated not only by vocalisations, but also through ritualised displays which have been categorised as flight displays, postural displays, and facial displays. The noisy miner is a notably aggressive bird, and chasing, pecking, fighting, scolding, and mobbing occur throughout the day, targeted at both intruders and colony members." Further reading: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-14/n... and: https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/pro...
Spotted on Mar 12, 2019
Submitted on Apr 7, 2019
13 Comments
I have to say, Daniele, that my camera and I don't always see eye to eye. I can go out for a day and get some decent shots, I can go out for a weekend and all shots are terrible. Unfortunately, this long weekend was the latter but there might be a couple I could salvage :D
You're welcome Liana! I hope you brought some photo and video treasures back from your camping trip!
I just got home from a long weekend away camping to see this. A wonderful surprise! Thank you everyone for your support and encouragement. And thank you Daniele for the honour of SOTW! I love these birds, they are so bold, pugnacious and very funny :D
Great work Liana, and congratulations on your SOTW.
Congratulations, Liana. This is a wonderful spotting and much-deserving of its SOTW. Miners are still naughty little horrors though. Horrors, I say ;)
Congratulations.Down Under has some pretty amazing creatures...the birds are personalities too.
Congratulations armadeus on a well-deserved SOTW. What an interesting bird. Thanks for sharing. Cool video too.
Congratulations Liana, your noisy miners have been chosen as Spotting of the Week! The video was popular in our vote last week, and the spotting is a perfect fit for our 2019 mission on species interactions:
"Our Spotting of the Week comes with a video! Noisy Miners (Manorina melanocephala) are known for picking up fights with others of the feathered kind, and just about everybody else. Part of the honeyeater (Meliphagidae) family and endemic to eastern and south-eastern Australia, noisy miners spend much of their time mobbing or attacking any bird perceived as a threat, such as this Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis). They will harass most species of birds entering their territory, large reptiles too, and even mammals".
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Thanks heaps for your support Neil. Glad you enjoyed the video. They really don't like anybody :D
Congrats on your nomination, Liana. Great spotting, and excellent notes and links. I enjoyed the video too. There is no love lost between either of these honeyeater species, or to put it bluntly, they hate each other. Miners hate everybody.
Thank you Maria! I'm glad you enjoyed the little video. It's pretty something watching different species interact.
Great spotting and your notes are a good addition. Enjoyed the video as well; three miners ganging up on the honeyeater!
Your spotting has been nominated for the Spotting of the Week. The winner will be chosen by the Project Noah Rangers based on a combination of factors including: uniqueness of the shot, status of the organism (for example, rare or endangered), quality of the information provided in the habitat and description sections. There is a subjective element, of course; the spotting with the highest number of Ranger votes is chosen. Congratulations on being nominated Liana!