Nature Pages

Noisy Miner

– Manorina Melanocephala

By: Marj Webber

NOISY MINERS ARE VERY COMMON, FAMILY ORIENTATED, NOISY INHABITANTS ON BRIBIE ISLAND AND ARE USUALLY SEEN IN URBAN AREAS, PARKS, GARDENS AND SPARSELY WOODED BUSH AREAS.

They are medium sized mostly grey birds with black and white heads, yellow bills, legs and naked skin around the eyes. Length is approximately 25-28 cm and weight about 55-64 g. Feathers are edged on backs, breasts and napes. Males, females and juveniles are similar in appearance. As the name suggests they have a loud penetrating call. They are sociable birds and form flocks of sometimes up to 30-100 in their heavily populated areas. Corrobborees are group displays where there is much noise and activity carried out by groups and appear to be bonding activities. Other birds are always a bother to them, especially other honeyeaters that compete for food. Calls of alarm go out when an intruder is spotted, and their territory is noisily and aggressively defended. It is not unusual to hear rowdy commotions when Noisy Miners are about. I always investigate these eruptions and am sometimes rewarded with viewing snakes, lace monitors, possums or raptors. There are often squabbles within the group and members are set upon by other group members. Sometimes smaller intruding birds are killed. Because of these behaviours, areas where lots of Noisy Miners are present are often short of other species such as Whistlers, Fantails, Flycatchers and others. Their noisy outbursts can be annoying to some people. Eucalypt forests in Eastern Australia where they are endemic are favourite haunts for Noisy Miners. They can be found from about Townsville to Adelaide and in Tasmania. They are mostly sedentary but can be nomadic in search of food. Preferred habitats are in woodlands, forest edges, roadside wooded areas, farmlands and parks and gardens. They do not like dense forests and undergrowth and prefer open areas and high trees. They have certainly benefited by land clearing and urbanisation. Noisy Miners are part of the Honeyeater family so their main food is nectar, but they also eat insects, fruit and seeds, and sometimes smallish reptiles. Usually, they feed in groups. Some people find them helpful in their gardens by eating bugs that attack their plants. They drink water from creeks and ponds and regularly bathe by diving into the water, flapping their wings and splashing about. If no water is available, they will sometimes take a dust bath. Breeding times are mainly between June and December, but they may breed at any other time during the year. Pairs are mainly monogamous for several years. Nesting takes place communally, usually with quite large numbers in the group. Untidy, cup nests of bark, grass, sticks, cobwebs and sometimes man-made fibres are constructed by females on forks in leafy trees or bushes. 3-4 eggs, which are mostly cream with brownish splotches, are produced. When the naked babies are hatched up to 10 males in the group help with tending to and feeding the young. It is thought that these males are all part of the nesting families. There may be several broods produced in one season. Chicks, like their parents, are noisy in the nest. Predators are group mobbed and chased away. Other names for Noisy Miners are “Mickey Bird” or “Soldier Bird”. When John Latham in 1801 first described the Noisy Miner, he named it the “Chattering Bee-eater”. The species name melanocephala is from ancient Greek meaning “black” and “head”. They are not to be confused with Common Mynas which are brown and yellow, introduced birds which are upsetting the lives and numbers of many native birds by competing for nest space and food, and preying on their eggs and chicks. Conservation is secure in all states where Noisy Miners are present. Their population is on the increase particularly in areas where there has been urbanisation and farming.

CONNECTING WITH NATURE

If people connect with nature, they are more likely to respect nature. Sandra Bayley from Toorbul is inviting people on Sundays from 2-3 pm. to gather in the Tree Room (a canopy of trees) on the Toorbul foreshore opposite 67 Esplanade, Toorbul. Last week, we shared reading and discussion of the book, “The Eastern Curlew” by Harry Saddler. It’s an Australian epic and a tribute to the extraordinary life of a migratory bird. The Eastern Curlew is the largest of our migratory shorebirds and is seriously endangered. They are laying their eggs in the Arctic at the moment. They will start arriving here in September, a journey of over 10,000 km. There are no stopovers, so the birds lose over half their body weight. When they arrive, it is vital that they eat voraciously and are undisturbed. Their domain is the mudflats. Often, Harry Saddler states, that we as a population, “we don’t value mud or mudflats.” For shorebirds, mudflats are everything. His book discusses other resident and migratory birds in a personal, poetic and engaging way. We do need to make our migratory shorebirds our highest priority in an area that is diminishing rapidly due to rapid development and oversight to pressing environmental concerns. In Harry Saddler’s words, “There’s nothing to be gained from maintaining a divide between animals and ourselves. By insisting upon it we’ve already lost so much and are continuing to do so.”

Glenda Charles - (for BIEPA) biepa.online