timothya
Posts: 280
Joined: April 2013
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If you live in south-eastern Australia, you are likely to have encountered birds known as honeyeaters. Honeyeaters are a common type of bird in Australia, and are a wonderful example of species radiation. Depending on how you choose to apply the definition of a species, there are dozens or perhaps hundreds of lineages.
Anyway, this story is about a single nesting. At my partner's house, we noticed that a pair of honeyeaters were building a nest inside the foliage of a cordyline plant in the garden. I am pretty sure they were New Holland honeyeaters (Phylidonyris novaehollandiae): http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/sites......abQ59V1 (image from birdsinbackyards.net). They certainly had the striated underbelly.
Later, a pair of honeyeaters hatched some nestlings. But, the parent birds were clearly from a different species. This is one of the nesters (Blue-faced honeyeater: Entomyzon cyanotis):
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/sites......gc9rx6s (image from birdsinbackyards.net). Its common name is the Banana Bird, which makes it interesting to find it in the southern highlands of New South Wales (think Florida versus Canada).
One interesting thing (remarked on by Australian ornithologists) is that "Most [blue-faced honeyeater] nests are made on the abandoned nests of Grey-crowned Babblers, Noisy, Silver-crowned and Little Friarbirds, Noisy Miner, Red Wattlebird, Australian Magpie, Magpie-Lark and, rarely, butcherbirds or the Chestnut-crowned Babbler. Sometimes the nests are not modified, but often they are added to and relined." (http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Entomyzon-cyanotis)
Did the blue-faced folk ask permission of the novaehollandaiae folk or did they just barge in and take over?
And then another interesting thing. Honeyeaters often practice "cooperative breeding":
"The Blue-faced Honeyeater forms breeding pairs, and may sometimes be a cooperative breeder, where immature birds help the main breeding pair to feed nestlings." (http://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/blue-faced-honeyeater). Sure enough, three adults pop up at the nest with food for the nestlings (honeyeaters are mainly insectivorous, despite their name).
The nestlings are the ultimate alarm clock. As soon as the eastern sky lightens, they begin to carry on at the top of their voices (stupid, ignorant, insensitive birds).
And one other interesting thing. Another species of honeyeater regularly visits the nest, the White-eared honeyeater Lichenostomus leucotus):
http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species....eucotis (image from birdsinbackyards.net)
The white ear doesn't seem to feed the nestlings, but it turns up every ten minutes to take a look. As does a tiny finch that I haven't been able to identify. I would post my own pics, but I can't work out how to embed them in this editor.
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"In its majestic equality, the law forbids rich and poor alike to sleep under bridges, beg in the streets and steal loaves of bread." Anatole France
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