Habits
In pairs or flocks, according to the season.
Food
Insects and nectar.
Voice
Harsh, throaty, grating sounds, a gurgling, 'grrowgk', 'chrrowk' or short, hollow, 'klok', repeated irregularly. Aslo duets, the emale giving a gurgling sound, the male quickly responding with a harsh croak.
Nest
Bulky, loose, open, saucer-shaped, composed of twigs and strips of bark, lined with fine grass and wool, in a fork in a bush or tree, up to 13 m above the ground.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; pale salmon-pink finely and sparsely spotted with red-brown and purple-grey; oval to tapered-oval; about 36 x 24 mm. Incubation: 14 - 16 days.
Young
Fledge in about 18 days.
Subspecies
May form a superspecies with Red Wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata).
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
paradoxa (Daudin, 1800) - Central and eastern Tasmania.
kingi (Mathews, 1925) - King Island.
Similar Species
Little Wattlebird (Anthochaera chrysoptera) which is smaller, darker and lacks wattles.
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
(40Kb) © ? (
BirdLife International Species Factsheet