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Yellow-throated Miner

(Manorina flavigula)
Size: 26-28 cm

Habitat
(for details refer to a field guide)

The five races of Yellow-throated Miners populate almost the entire interior of the Australian continent, with the exception of the Simpson Desert, near the NT/QLD/SA border. They are not found in Arnhemland, NT, Cape York peninsula, QLD, along the east and south coast and the Great Dividing Range southward of the Whitsundays, QLD, Tasmania, most of VIC and the very tip of south-west WA. For details on the boundaries between the races see a field guide.

Yellow-throated Miners are usually found in dry open forest and remnant woodland. They adapt well to the presence of humans and are found e.g. on farms.

Sightings

Although, according to field guides, just beyond the boundary of their habitat, Yellow-throated Miners are regularly found in the area of Narrabri, NSW. We have spotted them in various locations in and around Narrabri in the years since 2005, including where we lived in 2003-2006, 20 km south of town and also 20 km east of town in 2007-2008.

Our impression is that their numbers have risen over the last few years (since 2003), after several years of drought inland. The Narrabri region is now located in an overlap area between the habitats of two species of Miners: Yellow-throated Miners and the apparently very similar Noisy Miners.

Photos

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Race "flavigula"

Portrait of a Yellow-throated Miner

Lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner

Yellow-throated Miner seen from behind

Yellow-throated Miner drinking from a leaking water storage tank

Yellow-throated Miner that has caught an insect to feed its chicks

This bird came in for a drink from one of our bowls; the near-frontal view shows clearly both yellow throat patches (photo taken through a fence)

Yellow-throated Miner collecting nesting material

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal Mobility: Sedentary Elementary unit: Family clan

Like all species of miners, Yellow-throated Miners are highly sociable. They live in family units of up to 10 or 12 birds.

Part of a family of Yellow-throated Miners; such congregations tend to be rather noisy affairs...

Food

Like all Miners of the Manorina family, Yellow-throated Miners feed mostly on insects taken from leaves or bark, rather than nectar.

This bird came to pick its feed of psyllids and lerps from the underside of a tree's leaves

Additional information

There is a separate page with a short description of psyllids and lerps.

Here an example of a Yellow-throated Miner taking nectar