ON THE WING
Like an actor strutting the stage, a striking male yellow-throated honeyeater (above) made his presence felt in the Waterworks Reserve.
With the first snows of winter settling on kunanyi/Mt Wellington, the honeyeater always lays claim to a patch of exotic winter-flowering vegetation. The flowers of the Ned Kelly grevillea are a vital food source in winter and are eyed enviously by members of the honeyeater family visiting the reserve.
Male yellowthroats defend mating territories year-round and after the breeding season the bird with which I’m familiar appears to extend its range to include a flower bed in the reserve, framing a children’s playground. The yellowthroat is happy to tolerate kids but gives crescent honeyeaters and eastern spinebills short shrift.
The crescent honeyeaters and spinebills come down from their summer breeding territories on the mountain to establish winter ranges closer to the coast. All winter they engage in skirmishes with yellowthroats. The crescent honeyeaters generally come off worse – chased off without getting a feed – but the spinebills use their smaller size and aerial dexterity to nip in for a sip of nectar.
The spinebills are the pickpockets of the bird world, stealing food before the yellowthroats realise what is going on.
Throughout the Hobart suburbs these jousts take place in winter. In gardens that do not have the tall native trees favoured by the yellowthroats – from which they glean insect food if they are not feeding on food produced by flowers – the wars in the grevilleas and bottlebrushes usually happen between resident New Holland honeyeaters and the crescent honeyeater and spinebill raiders.
My interest in autumn and winter is the yellowthroats, which I find stunningly beautiful. It is no surprise that when BirdLife Tasmania was founded it decided to choose an image of the species as the official emblem.
As it often hides in the canopy of tall eucalypts, the yellowthroat escapes our notice – although its familiar song, which I can only describe as a rapid-fire “chortle”, rings through the leafier suburbs.
The yellow-throated honeyeater is a medium-sized honeyeater with a relatively long tail. The average length is 21cm. The plumage is bright olive green above, with a silver-grey crown, face and underbelly, which contrasts with their bright yellow chin and throat. Females are smaller are duller in colour.
The yellowthroat may often slip under the radar in its home state but the large number of visiting birdwatchers to be found searching for it at the Waterworks Reserve in spring and summer are evidence its reputation has spread far and wide. Contact the writer at donaldknowler.com