Voice
Varied notes, ranging from harsh to musical. A mellow, 'kook-', alternating with a grating 'kraagk' as 'kook-kook-kraagk-kraagk, 'kook-kook-kraagk-kraagk' and ''kraagk-kook-kraagk-kook'. Also a grating 'graarrrk'.
Nest
Cup-shaped, composed of small twigs, lined with grasses and soft bark, sometimes also plant down, in the fork of a low tree or bush.
Eggs (Guide)
2, sometimes 3; pink-buff, irregularly spotted with red-brown and purplish red, mainly at the larger end; oval; about 28 x 21 mm. Incubation: about 16 days; by female.
Young
Fledge in about 14 - 16 days.
Subspecies
Anthochaera chrysoptera (Christidis and Boles 1994) has been split into Little Wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera) and Western Wattlebird (Anthochaera lunulata) following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993) and Christidis and Boles (2008).
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
chrysoptera (Latham, 1802) - Coastal south-eastern Australia from Dawes Range, south-eastern Qld in the north, south and south-west to Adelaide, SA.
tasmanica (Mathews, 1912) - Nothern and eastern Tasmania.
halmaturina (Mathews, 1912) - Kangaroo Island, SA.
Similar Species
Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) which is larger, lighter and has yellow on the belly.
References
See References.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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