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Australian Wildlife

  Western Wattlebird (Anthochaera lunulata)





Western Wattlebird | Anthochaera lunulata photo
Western Wattlebird (Anthochaera lunulata) taken in Perth, Australia

Image by D. Gordon E. Robertson - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







WESTERN WATTLEBIRD FACTS

Description
The Western Wattlebird is a brown honeyeater. It is very similar to the Little Wattlebird (A. chrysoptera) from the eastern states, and considered as a sub-species in some publications. The chest is brown streaked with white and belly is white. Unlike the Little Wattlebird, the head is plain brown and does not have white streaks. It has a white patch on side of the head below the eye stretching from the bill to almost the shoulder. The grey bill is fairly long and curved. It does not have visible wattles.

Size
25cm - 30cm

Habitat
forest, woodland, heathland, parks and gardens

Food
feeds on nectar extracted from the flower using their long tongue. Also eats insects

Breeding
the nest is made from twigs and grass in a bush or tree. Lays usually a single buff coloured egg spotted with fine brown spots.

Range
found in south west parts of Western Australia

distribution map showing range of Anthochaera lunulata in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Meliphagidae
Genus:Anthochaera
Species:lunulata
Common Name:Western Wattlebird

Relatives in same Genus
  Red Wattlebird (A. carunculata)
  Little Wattlebird (A. chrysoptera)
  Yellow Wattlebird (A. paradoxa)