Mangrove honeyeater facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Mangrove honeyeater |
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| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Genus: |
Gavicalis
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| Species: |
fasciogularis
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| Synonyms | |
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Lichenostomus fasciogularis |
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The mangrove honeyeater (Gavicalis fasciogularis) is a type of bird from the honeyeater family. It used to be thought of as the same bird as the varied honeyeater. But now, scientists know they are different species. These two birds, along with the singing honeyeater, belong to the same group of birds called Gavicalis.
This bird lives only in Australia. You can find it along the eastern coast, from Townsville in Queensland down to northern New South Wales. In recent years, it has been spreading its home range further south. The mangrove honeyeater is usually easy to find in most places it lives, but it's rarer in the southern parts.
There are many kinds of honeyeaters, about 177 species in 40 different groups. Some other well-known honeyeaters include the Blue-faced honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis), Bell miner (Manorina melanophrys), and the Wattlebirds.
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What Does the Mangrove Honeyeater Look Like?
Mangrove honeyeaters are small to medium-sized birds that eat nectar. Their feathers are olive-brown on top, turning greyish-brown on their back and tail. They have fine dark stripes on their head and neck. A wide black mask covers their eyes and goes down the side of their neck.
They have a thin yellow stripe near their mouth that ends in a small white fluffy spot. This spot meets a larger greyish-white patch on the lower side of their neck. Their tail and upper wings are olive-brown. The chin and throat have thin dark grey-brown and dull yellow bars. Their legs are dark grey or bluish-grey. The back is dark-grey, and only the front edges of their flight feathers are yellowish-olive. Their eyes are dark blue-grey. Their bill, which is slightly curved downwards, is dark-grey. Male birds weigh about 24 to 33 grams, and females weigh about 22 to 30 grams.
Where Do Mangrove Honeyeaters Live?
Mangrove honeyeaters live along the coast of Australia. You can find them in Northeast Queensland, near Townsville, and on islands like the Whitsunday Islands and Moreton Bay. They also live in Northeast New South Wales.
These birds mostly live in mangrove forests and woodlands. These areas are found along coasts, bays, river mouths, and islands. They are less common in other coastal areas like shrubland or woodlands, even if they are close to mangroves. Sometimes, you might even see mangrove honeyeaters visiting parks and gardens in towns near mangrove areas.
In Australia, only three bird species mainly live in mangroves. However, it's common to find ten or more different honeyeater species in forests and coastal heathlands. Woodlands and other dry scrub areas also have many honeyeater species. Most honeyeaters in forests and woodlands live in the tops of trees. Some species that eat more nectar prefer to feed in the lower shrubs.
How Do Mangrove Honeyeaters Reproduce?
Mangrove honeyeaters usually have one partner for life. However, in some honeyeater species where males and females look very different, they might have more than one partner. Honeyeaters lay 1 to 5 eggs, but usually 2. The eggs can be white, pinkish, or buff, with reddish-brown spots.
The eggs hatch after 12 to 17 days. The young birds stay in the nest for 10 to 30 days before they are ready to fly.
What Do Mangrove Honeyeaters Eat?
Mangrove honeyeaters mostly eat nectar from flowers and small creatures without backbones, like insects. Sometimes, they also eat fruit. The small creatures they eat include insects, marine snails, and crabs.
Honeyeaters usually look for food in mangrove trees, especially among the outer leaves, flowers, and shrubs. They also enjoy other sweet foods. These include honeydew, which is a sugary liquid from bugs, and manna, a sweet liquid that comes from damaged leaves. They also eat lerp, which is a sugary coating made by tiny insects called psyllids. Sometimes, honeyeaters even drink sap that oozes from tree branches where possums have made marks.
Mangrove Honeyeater Behavior
Sounds They Make
The mangrove honeyeater's song is loud, musical, and rings out. It changes a lot, for example, sounding like "whit-u-we-u." Their calls are also described as a scolding chatter. Smaller honeyeaters often have musical voices, while larger ones tend to make louder, harsher sounds.
Their Life Cycle
Mangrove honeyeaters breed between August and December, with September being the busiest month. In northern areas, they might breed earlier, between April and May. Their nests are shaped like a cup. They build them from dried grasses and seagrass or plant fibers, held together with spider webs and matted egg sacs. They line the inside with fine roots or thin grass.
A typical nest is about 8.9 to 9.5 cm wide on the outside and 5.7 to 7.6 cm deep. The inside is about 6.4 to 7.6 cm wide. Nests are usually hung by their rim, sometimes with extra support. They are found about 0.5 to 2.7 meters above the ground, hidden in dense mangroves. Both the male and female birds feed their young, both in the nest and after they learn to fly. Sometimes, other birds like the Pallid Cuckoo (Heteroscenes pallidus) and Fan-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis flabelliformis) lay their eggs in mangrove honeyeater nests, letting the honeyeaters raise their young.
How They Move Around
Mangrove honeyeaters are permanent residents in places like Moreton Bay in Southeast Queensland. Their numbers might increase in May and June and then decrease from July to December. This movement could be due to local seasonal changes.
How They Fly
Mangrove honeyeaters have adapted well to changes in the land, like when forests are cleared in southern Western Australia. They can fly over open farmlands. They have also been linked to spreading a harmful plant called Bridal Creeper (Asparagus medeoloides).
Conservation Status
The mangrove honeyeater is not considered to be in danger globally. Even though it lives in a specific area and its exact population size isn't known, it's not seen as vulnerable because its home range is quite large. In fact, its range is thought to have grown over the last 50 years. The first records of this bird in Yamba were in 1947, and since then, they have been seen even further south.
