A few days ago I wrote about our recent trip to Victor Harbor in South Australia I also wrote about the beautiful birds I saw feeding in the Bottlebrush (Callistemon spp) bushes and trees in the street where we parked.
In amongst all the Musk Lorikeet parrots on a feeding frenzy were a few Little Wattlebirds. There are several species of Wattlebirds native to Australia. The most common species around home here in Murray Bridge are the Red Wattlebirds. I have quite a few photos of this species but the Little Wattlebird has so far eluded me – until now. They were so intent on feeding that they took little notice of me and the camera only two or three metres away.
Click on the photo to enlarge.
Little Wattlebird
Distribution:
Little Wattlebirds are found throughout coastal south eastern Australia from near Brisbane through to Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is also found throughout Tasmania. Race lunulata, also known as the Brush Wattlebird, is found in south west Western Australia.
Habitat:
Little Wattlebirds prefer similar habitats to its slightly larger cousin, the Red Wattlebird. It can often be found in parks and gardens, woodlands with eucalypts and banksias, tea-tree scrubs and heathlands.
Breeding:
Little Wattlebirds nest in the latter half of the year, often in the spring. They lay 1 or 2 salmon pink eggs with reddish spots. The nest is a loose untidy cup of twigs, bark, and other plant materials.
A Confession:
I am on record on the Birding-Aus forum as saying that I consider the Little Wattlebird to be the most unattractive Australian bird. When I see this species up close, and look at the lovely photo above, I confess that I need to retract that statement. In its own way it is quite an attractive bird. It will never compete with the Superb Blue Wren or some of our finches, for example, but it is certainly not unattractive.
Noisy – yes, but not unattractive.
