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Wattlebirds, Friarbirds, Honeyeaters, Miners, Spinebills, Chats, GibberbirdGeneral observations |
This is a family group for which living just west of the Great Dividing Range is a big advantage, because one can watch both the birds of the interior and those living predominantly on the south-eastern coastal fringe and/or the ranges at the same time. An example of this is the fact that in the Narrabri area both Singing Honeyeaters and Yellow-faced Honeyeaters, which have almost complementary habitats, are found.
Many species of honeyeaters have nests shaped like hanging baskets. Two examples are those of Little Friarbirds and Striped Honeyeaters. Such nests offer opportunities to observe the birds' nesting habits in some detail. When sitting on eggs, the birds will be low in their nests, as shown on the page on Striped Honeyeaters. On the other hand, we have observed adult birds sitting much higher when keeping their chicks warm, for the simple reasons that the chicks have grown to much larger sizes than the eggs from which they hatched. For an example, see the photo showing the Little Friarbird sitting on its nest.
