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Yellow ThornbillAlternate name(s): "Little Thornbill", "Little Tit", "Yellow-breasted Tomtit", "Yellow Dicky" Size: 9-10 cm Weight: 5-8 g |
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Similar |
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Photos |
Race "nana"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Frontal view of a Yellow Thornbill
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, January 2013]
Near-lateral view of a Yellow Thornbill
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, December 2012]
Lateral view of a Yellow Thornbill
(photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, August 2017]
Lateral view from below of a Yellow Thornbill
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, May 2015]
Frontal view of a soaking wet Yellow Thornbill
(photo courtesy of A. Campbell)
[Mount McEuen, QLD, August 2017]
Race "modesta"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Frontal view of a Yellow Thornbill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2017]
Frontal/ventral view of a Yellow Thornbill; note how this bird has
a more orange throat than others
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2017]
"Head-on" Yellow Thornbill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2011]
Close-up near-frontal view of a Yellow Thornbill "trapped" in an
open garage
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2023]
Near-frontal/ventral view of a Yellow Thornbill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2011]
Near-lateral view of a Yellow Thornbill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2017]
Close-up lateral view of a Yellow Thornbill "trapped" in an
open garage looking at the observer
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2023]
Close-up lateral view of a Yellow Thornbill "trapped" in an
open garage
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2023]
Lateral view of a Yellow Thornbill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2016]
Lateral view of a Yellow Thornbill hunting for small insects in an
Acacia salicina
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2011]
Lateral/ventral view of a Yellow Thornbill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2017]
Lateral/ventral view of a preening Yellow Thornbill
[Bullawa Creek SCA,
near Narrabri, NSW, April 2019]
Near-dorsal view of a Yellow Thornbill
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
near Narrabri, NSW, October 2020]
Close-up near-dorsal/ventral view of a Yellow Thornbill "trapped" in an
open garage
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2023]
Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Yellow Thornbill
[Near Narrabri, NSW, September 2019]
Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Yellow Thornbill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2016]
Dorsal view of a Yellow Thornbill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2011]
Yellow Thornbill hanging on the end of a twig seen from beneath
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2011]
This photo shows the bright-yellow
plumage
of a Yellow Thornbill that is normally hidden under the wing
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2011]
Here an air-borne Yellow Thornbill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2011]
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Breeding information |
Breeding season: Jul - Dec | Eggs: 3 | Incubation period: ? | Fledging age: ? |
Nest building: Female & male | Incubation: Female & male | Dependent care: Female & male |
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
Type: Dome | Material: Bark fibres, dry grass, webs | Height above ground: 3 - 15 m |
Yellow Thornbills have the smallest, least conspicuous nests of all thornbills. These nests are always built in trees, not in shrubs. Sometimes the nests are decorated, e.g. with spiders' egg sacs.
Yellow Thornbill, race "nana", entering its nest
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, December 2016]
Yellow Thornbill, race "nana", looking out of its nest
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, December 2016]
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Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay] |
Size: 16 x 12 mm | Colour: Creamy, with mid-brown to chestnut speckles | Shape: Tapered oval |
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Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Territorial?/ roaming? | Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive | Elementary unit: Family clan |
Yellow Thornbills are furtive little birds that can be hard to find, because they tend to remain in trees (e.g. Cypress pines), mostly in shady areas, moving around quickly.
Yellow Thornbills are often seen by us foraging in trees together with other thornbills (mostly Inland Thornbills or Brown Thornbills).
Close-up lateral view of a Yellow Thornbill approaching a bird bath
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2022]
Close-up view of a Yellow Thornbill in a bird bath
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2022]
Two of several Yellow Thornbills visiting a bird bath
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2022]
Frontal view of a Yellow Thornbill shaking dry its
plumage
[Eulah Creek, NSW, June 2023]
This Yellow Thornbill is wet from dew bathing on the leaves of an
ironbark eucalypt
[Eulah Creek, NSW, June 2023]
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Food, Diet |
To the best of our knowledge all Thornbills feed on little insects that they pick off leaves. As shown in the photo below, this is at least true for Yellow Thornbills.
Yellow Thornbill with some kind of insect in its bill
[Eulah Creek, NSW, April 2016]
This Yellow Thornbill has caught a little insect
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2010]
This Yellow Thornbill is not after the flower's nectar, but after whatever
insect is feeding on the nectar
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2011]
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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.
ylthbil_20171101.m4a |
modesta (NW NSW) |
Contact calls | © MD | |
ylthbil_20230603.mp3 | (NW NSW) | Yellow Thornbill alarm call & Yellow-rumped Thornbill departure | © MD | |
ylthbil_20220521.m4a |
modesta (NW NSW) |
Various (mob) | © MD | |
ylthbil_20171101_2.m4a |
modesta (NW NSW) |
Various (mob foraging) | © MD |
More Yellow Thornbill sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.