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17

White-throated Gerygone (Gerygone olivacea) Alternate name(s): "White-throated Warbler", "White-throated Flyeater"; misnomers: "Bush Canary", "Native Canary*" Size: 10-11 cm Weight: 5-8 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description White-throated Gerygones are very small bushland birds. They have a prominent white throat and a white spot on the forehead. The chest and belly are bright yellow. The rest of the head, the back and the wings are all slate-grey with a brown tinge. They have neither eye-rings or eyebrow. The eyes have red irises. The bill and lores are dark-grey, while the legs and feet are grey. Juvenile White-throated Gerygones do not have a white throat or white frontal spots yet. Twitcher's tip Compared to Fairy Gerygones, White-throated Gerygones have a brighter yellow front.

Taxonomy, classification See White-throated Gerygone at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the White-throated Gerygone is available HERE . White-throated Gerygones are found only in Australia and New Guinea. There are three races of White-throated Gerygones. Nominate race "olivacea" occurs along the East coast of Australia, South of Cape York peninsula, and throughout the Great Dividing Range, down to about the NSW/VIC border. In years of good rainfall they can disperse into the semi-arid interior by about 100-200 km from the ranges, adding also the Murray River catchment and the rest of VIC, up to about Adelaide in SA, to their range. Race "cinerascens" is found only on Cape York peninsula, to the North of a line connecting Normanton, QLD, with Port Douglas, QLD. From the southern tip of the Gulf of Carpentaria near Normanton, QLD, westward, through the Top End of the NT and the Kimberley in WA, race "rogersi" is found. White-throated Gerygones are usually found in open forest and woodland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "olivacea" In 2005 White-throated Gerygones, race "olivacea", visited us occasionally 20 km South of Narrabri, NSW. Another White-throated Gerygone, race "olivacea", was found in November 2006 in Warrumbungle NP, 30 km West of Coonabarabran, NSW. We have also seen White-throated Gerygones, race "olivacea", in the Pilliga NR, about 50 km South of Narrabri, in March 2009 and again in December 2011. White-throated Gerygones, race "olivacea", have also been found by us to the East of Narrabri, e.g. at Eulah Creek, where they usually arrive in September and depart around March/April. In 2017 the first returning bird was found by us in late August, in the Upper Bullawa Creek section of Mt. Kaputar NP. Farther North, we have also spotted White-throated Gerygones, race "olivacea", in Byfield NP, QLD, in July 2009. C. Hayne reports that White-throated Gerygones, race "olivacea", are occassionally seen and heard at various locations around Moree, NSW, especially towards the West, but also on a farm 35 km East of Moree. B. Hensen reports finding a pair of White-throated Gerygones, race "olivacea", nesting at St. Albans, NSW, in December 2013. N. Smith reports finding a pair of White-throated Gerygones, race "olivacea", nesting about 15 km North of Tamworth, NSW, in November 2016. M. Eaton found a pair of White-throated Gerygones, race "olivacea", nesting at Anstead, QLD, in August 2017. Another pair was found there in October 2021. More birds were observed at Samsonvale, QLD, in May 2020. Another was found at the Roma Bush Gardens, Roma, QLD, in August. The latter location is near the western boundary of their range. R. Plumtree found a White-throated Gerygone, race "olivacea", near Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, in November 2018. This location is close to the southern edge of the species' range. M. Adam-Cross reports finding a White-throated Gerygone, race "olivacea", at Yarramundi, on the Hawkesbury River, NSW, in January 2020. A pair of White-throated Gerygones, race "olivacea", was found by M. Windeyer in Warrumbungle NP, 30 km West of Coonabarabran, NSW, in May 2020. Race "rogersi" B. Hensen reports spotting a White-throated Gerygone, race "rogersi", in Pine Creek, NT, in July 2014. We found a White-throated Gerygone, race "rogersi", at Homes Jungle Nature Park, Darwin, in August 2014. P. Brown reports finding a White-throated Gerygone, race "rogersi", at Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, in May 2019, and another at the Lorrngorl Camp, Giwining/Flora River Nature Reserve, NT, in September 2020.

Photos

Race "olivacea"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, October 2021]

Frontal view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, October 2021]

Frontal/ventral view of a White-throated Gerygone scanning a eucalypt tree for insects
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2013]

Near-frontal view of a White-throated Gerygone
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2013]

Near-frontal view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, October 2021]

Near-lateral view of a White-throated Gerygone looking towards the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Roma Bush Gardens, Roma, QLD, August 2022]

Near-lateral view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Scrub Lane, Samsonvale, QLD, May 2020]

Near-lateral view of a White-throated Gerygone searching for insects (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Near Nally's Creek, Ensay Doctors Flat Road, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2018]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, October 2021]

Lateral view of a White-throated Gerygone
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2018]

Lateral view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Scrub Lane, Samsonvale, QLD, May 2020]

Lateral view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Scrub Lane, Samsonvale, QLD, May 2020]

Lateral view of a White-throated Gerygone
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2013]

Close-up lateral/ventral view of a White-throated Gerygone
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2013]

Lateral view of a White-throated Gerygone looking for prey (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, October 2021]

Lateral/ventral view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, October 2021]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Roma Bush Gardens, Roma, QLD, August 2022]

Dorsal view of a White-throated Gerygone
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2013]

Ventral view of a White-throated Gerygone
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2013]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a juvenile White-throated Gerygone - note the absence of a white throat; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 19/20 January 2015
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2015]

Race "rogersi"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Lorrngorl Camp, Giwining/Flora River Nature Reserve, NT, September 2020]

Lateral view of a White-throated Gerygone (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Pine Creek, NT, July 2014]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Jan

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: ca. 12 days

Fledging age: ca. 14 - 16 days

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Domed hanging bottle

Material: Bark strips or reeds, webs

Height above ground: 3 - 15 m

The nest shown below was found close to a creek lined by reeds, old strands of which were then used for construction. The nest, although suspended from only one point, looked very solid and stable.

Nest of a pair of White-throated Gerygones; note the difference in materials used for this nest compared to others on the eastern coastal fringe (shown below)
[Pilliga NR, NSW, December 2011]

Here the female White-throated Gerygone is "at home", peeking out of the nest
[Pilliga NR, NSW, December 2011]

In this photo one can see most clearly the typical markings of a White-throated Gerygone; next to the white throat, the white forehead spots and some yellow on the bird's breast are visible
[Pilliga NR, NSW, December 2011]

Two White-throated Gerygone chicks peeking out of their nest, waiting to be fed (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, December 2013]

White-throated Gerygone feeding its chicks in their nest (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, December 2013]

White-throated Gerygone nest in an ornamental plant right next to the entrance door to a house (photo courtesy of N. Smith)
[Near Tamworth, NSW, November 2016]

White-throated Gerygone peeking out of its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead, QLD, August 2017]

One of the owners of the White-throated Gerygone nest shown above (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead, QLD, August 2017]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size:18 x 13 mm

Colour: Creamy, with mid-brown specks

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Food, Diet

White-throated Gerygones forage through the foliage of trees for small insects.

White-throated Gerygone with its prey, a spider (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, October 2021]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

wthgery_20200919.m4a	olivacea (NW NSW)	Contact call	© MD
wthgery_me_20211016.m4a	olivacea (SE QLD)	Contact call	© ME
wthgery_20151201.m4a	olivacea (NW NSW)	Contact call + abbreviated call	© MD
wthgery_20141107.m4a	olivacea (NW NSW)	Contact call	© MD
wthgery_20151204.mp3	olivacea (W NSW)	Contact calls (long sequence)	© MD
wthgery_20140820.m4a	rogersi (Darwin, NT)	Contact call	© MD
wthgery_20140820_2.m4a	rogersi (Darwin, NT)	Contact call	© MD
wthgery_20140820_3.m4a	rogersi (Darwin, NT)	(Extended) contact call	© MD

More White-throated Gerygone sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Sun, 28 August 2022, 1:36 +00:00