Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris)

Other Names (World)
Eastern Spinebill, Spinebill, Victorian Spinebill, Slender-billed Honeyeater, Spinebill Honeyeater, Spine-billed Honeyeater, Tasmanian Honeyeater, Hummingbird, Tasmanian Hummingbird, Cobbler's Awl, Awl-bird, Spiney

Family
Meliphagidae (Honeyeaters)

Size
15 - 16 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Latham, 1801)

Derivation
Ac-anth-o-rhynch'-us - Gk, acantha, spine, thorn; Gk, rhynchos, beak: ten-u-i-ros'-tris - L., tenuis, slender; L., rostrum, bill

Habitat
Highlands, open forest country and gardens.

Range (Guide)

Australia (B).

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually in pairs.

Food
Insects and nectar.

Voice
Long, tinkling, staccato piping. Explosive twittering. Twittering in flight.

(41Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (50)...)

Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) [XC434421]
by Rolf A. de By from Benarkin State Forest, Queensland, Australia (song)

Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) [XC490800]
by Ramit Singal from Bulli Tops, New South Wales, Australia (song)

Nest
Cup-shaped, composed of bark, grass and moss, lined with fine grass and feathers, suspended from athin horizontal branch in a thick bush, usually about 8 meters above the ground.

Eggs (Guide)
2 or 3; buff or buff-pink with chestnut or red-brown spots towards the larger end; oval; about 17 x 13 mm. Incubation: about 14 days; mainly by female.

Young
Fledge in 13 - 15 days.

Subspecies
Forms a superspecies with Western Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus).

Proposed subspecies trochiloides (from Bunya Mts, in south-eastern Queensland) and loftyi (Mt Lofty, in southern Australia) considered synonyms of nominate, and regius (King I, in Bass Strait) synonymized with dubius.

The following 4 subspecies are recognised:

tenuirostris (Latham, 1801) - South-eastern Qld to south-east of SA.
cairnsensis Mathews, 1912 - North-eastern Qld.
dubius Gould, 1837 - Tasmania and islands in Bass Strait.
halmaturinus Campbell, AG, 1906 - Mt Lofty ranges and southern Flinders Ranges, urban Adelaide and Kangaroo Island, SA.

Similar Species
Tawny-crowned Honeyeater (Gliciphila melanops) which is larger, has a cinnamon crown, a white throat, and has a shorter, straighter bill and Crescent Honeyeater (Phylidonyris pyrrhopterus) which has a yellow wing bar and a grey throat.

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

Files:

JPG files for Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) - 10 files

MP3 files for Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) - 1 files

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