Eastern Spinebill
Encyclopedia
The Eastern Spinebill, Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris, is a species of honeyeater
found in south-eastern Australia
in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas of Sydney and Melbourne. It is around 15 cm long, and has a distinctive black, white and chestnut plumage, a red eye, and a long downcurved bill.
tenuirostris by ornithologist John Latham
in 1802, it is a member of the small genus Acanthorhynchus with one other, the Western Spinebill
of Western Australia
. The generic name is derived from the Greek
translation of its common name, namely acantho-/ακανθο- "spine" and rhynchos/ρυνχος "bill". Its specific name is from Latin
tenuis "narrow" and rostrum billed. It belongs to the honeyeater
family Meliphagidae. More recently, DNA
analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae, and the Petroicidae
(Australian robins) in a large corvid
superfamily; some researchers considering all these families in a broadly defined Corvidae
.
forest, scrub and heathland from the Cooktown area in North Queensland south through New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range
, through Victoria and into the Flinders Ranges
in eastern South Australia as well as throughout Tasmania
. Adaptable, they can be found in urban gardens with sufficient vegetation to act as cover and a food source.
the eggs for between 13 to 16 days before hatching. Both parents feed the chicks and remove the faecal sacks from the nest.
, mistletoes Amyema
spp., Epacris longiflora
, Epacris impressa(common heath), Correa reflexa
, and various members of the Proteaceae
such as Banksia ericifolia
, Banksia integrifolia
, Lambertia formosa
and Grevillea speciosa
, as well as small insects and other invertebrates. A 1982 study in the New England National Park
in North-eastern New South Wales
found that there was a large influx of birds coinciding with the start of flowering of Banksia spinulosa
there. They have been known to feed from exotic plants such as Fuchsia
s.
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
found in south-eastern Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas of Sydney and Melbourne. It is around 15 cm long, and has a distinctive black, white and chestnut plumage, a red eye, and a long downcurved bill.
Taxonomy
Originally described as CerthiaCerthia
Certhia is the genus of birds containing the typical treecreepers, which together with the Spotted Creeper make up the family Certhiidae.The typical treecreepers occur in many wooded parts of the North Temperate Zone...
tenuirostris by ornithologist John Latham
John Latham (ornithologist)
John Latham was an English physician, naturalist and author. He was born at Eltham in Kent, and was the eldest son of John Latham, a surgeon there, and his mother was a descendant of the Sothebys, in Yorkshire....
in 1802, it is a member of the small genus Acanthorhynchus with one other, the Western Spinebill
Western Spinebill
The Western Spinebill, Acanthorhynchus superciliosus, is a honeyeater found in the heath and woodland of south-western Western Australia. It ranges between long, and weighs around . It has a black head, gray back and wings, with a red band behind its neck and from its throat to its breast. There...
of Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
. The generic name is derived from the Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
translation of its common name, namely acantho-/ακανθο- "spine" and rhynchos/ρυνχος "bill". Its specific name is from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
tenuis "narrow" and rostrum billed. It belongs to the honeyeater
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
family Meliphagidae. More recently, DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae, and the Petroicidae
Petroicidae
The bird family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called the Australasian robins. Within the...
(Australian robins) in a large corvid
Corvida
The "Corvida" were one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri, as proposed in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy. Standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder....
superfamily; some researchers considering all these families in a broadly defined Corvidae
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...
.
Description
13–16 cm (5–6 in) long, the male Eastern Spinebill has a long thin downcurved black bill with a black head, white throat with a reddish patch and red iris. It has a brownish-red nape, a grey brown back and pale cinnamon underparts. The dark tail is tipped with white laterally. Females and juveniles are smaller and duller. The call is a rapid piping.Distribution and habitat
Eastern Spinebills are found in dry sclerophyllSclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
forest, scrub and heathland from the Cooktown area in North Queensland south through New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
, through Victoria and into the Flinders Ranges
Flinders Ranges
Flinders Ranges is the largest mountain range in South Australia, which starts approximately north west of Adelaide. The discontinuous ranges stretch for over from Port Pirie to Lake Callabonna...
in eastern South Australia as well as throughout Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. Adaptable, they can be found in urban gardens with sufficient vegetation to act as cover and a food source.
Reproduction
Breeding season is from August to December, with one or two broods raised. The nest is a deep cup-shaped structure of grass and bark lined with feathers, generally in the fork of a small bushy tree or shrub. The clutch is 1-4, with 2 being the average, pinkish eggs with dark reddish brown blotches and spots 17 x 13 mm in size. The female incubatiesAvian incubation
Incubation refers to the process by which certain oviparous animals hatch their eggs, and to the development of the embryo within the egg. The most vital factor of incubation is the constant temperature required for its development over a specific period. Especially in domestic fowl, the act of...
the eggs for between 13 to 16 days before hatching. Both parents feed the chicks and remove the faecal sacks from the nest.
Diet
The Eastern Spinebill feeds on nectar from many plants, including the blooms of gum treesEucalyptus
Eucalyptus is a diverse genus of flowering trees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Members of the genus dominate the tree flora of Australia...
, mistletoes Amyema
Amyema
Amyema is a genus of semi-parasitic shrubs which occur in Malesia and Australia.-Species:There are approximately 90 species including the following:* Amyema artensis Dan...
spp., Epacris longiflora
Epacris longiflora
The Fuchsia Heath is a plant, typically found in Australian belonging to the heath family whose native range extends from the central coast of New South Wales to southern Queensland...
, Epacris impressa(common heath), Correa reflexa
Correa reflexa
Correa reflexa, commonly known as Common Correa or Native Fuchsia, is a shrub which is endemic to Australia.The species was first formally described in 1800 by botanist Jacques Labillardière in Relation du Voyage à la Recherche de la Pérouse based on the type from Adventure Bay in southern...
, and various members of the Proteaceae
Proteaceae
Proteaceae is a family of flowering plants distributed in the Southern Hemisphere. The family comprises about 80 genera with about 1600 species. Together with the Platanaceae and Nelumbonaceae they make up the order Proteales. Well known genera include Protea, Banksia, Embothrium, Grevillea,...
such as Banksia ericifolia
Banksia ericifolia
Banksia ericifolia, the Heath-leaved Banksia , is a species of woody shrub of the Proteaceae family native to Australia. It grows in two separate regions of Central and Northern New South Wales east of the Great Dividing Range...
, Banksia integrifolia
Banksia integrifolia
Banksia integrifolia, commonly known as Coast Banksia, is a species of tree that grows along the east coast of Australia. One of the most widely distributed Banksia species, it occurs between Victoria and Central Queensland in a broad range of habitats, from coastal dunes to mountains...
, Lambertia formosa
Lambertia formosa
Lambertia formosa, commonly known as Mountain Devil, is a shrub of the family Proteaceae endemic to New South Wales, Australia. First described by English botanist James Edward Smith in 1798, its specific name formosa is the Latin adjective for 'handsome'. No subspecies are recognised...
and Grevillea speciosa
Grevillea speciosa
Grevillea speciosa, also known as Red Spider Flower, is a shrub which is endemic to New South Wales in Australia.-Description:This species is a shrub, growing up to 3 metres in height. Its leaves are narrow-obovate to round or elliptic to narrow-elliptic...
, as well as small insects and other invertebrates. A 1982 study in the New England National Park
New England National Park
New England National Park is situated on the Northern Tablelands in the New England region of New South Wales, Australia, 560 km north of Sydney. It is about 10 km south of Waterfall Way, just 85 km east of Armidale and 65 km west of Coffs Harbour...
in North-eastern New South Wales
New South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
found that there was a large influx of birds coinciding with the start of flowering of Banksia spinulosa
Banksia spinulosa
The Hairpin Banksia is a species of woody shrub, of the genus Banksia in the Proteaceae family, native to eastern Australia. Widely distributed, it is found as an understorey plant in open dry forest or heathland from Victoria to northern Queensland, generally on sandstone though sometimes also...
there. They have been known to feed from exotic plants such as Fuchsia
Fuchsia
Fuchsia is a genus of flowering plants that consists mostly of shrubs or small trees. The first, Fuchsia triphylla, was discovered on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola in 1703 by the French Minim monk and botanist, Charles Plumier...
s.