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18

Bell Miner (Manorina melanophrys) Alternate name(s): "Bell-bird", "Bell Mynah" Aboriginal name(s): "jumjum" Size: 18-20 cm Weight: 28-32 g

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Bell Miners are small nectar-eating birds. They have on overall olive-green appearance. The front is yellowish olive-green, while the back is darker olive-green, with a tail that is slightly darker yet. The upperwing feathers have dark-grey leading edges, giving them a greyish olive-green appearance. The lores are yellow, the frons has a blackish spot and there are small bright-red, near-triangular skin patches right behind the eyes. The irises are dark; the bill, legs and feet are bright-orange. Juveniles are more brownish than olive-green and they do not have the conspicuous facial markings yet.

Taxonomy, classification See Bell Miner 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 Bell Miner is available HERE . Bell Miners are endemic to Australia. The range of Bell Miners extends from around Melbourne, VIC, along the South-East coast of Australia and the eastern slopes of the Great Dividing Range, up to about Maryborough, QLD. North of the Clarence River estuary, NSW, and between Wilson's Promontory and Lakes Entrance, VIC, Bell Miners are only rarely found on the coastal fringe itself. Bell Miners are usually found in the understorey or middle storey of tall forest, often near watercourses, but also along the steep slopes of the Great Dividing Range, often with psyllid infestation.

Sightings Click here for sighting information We had heard Bell Miners several times, e.g. in the Blue Mountains, West of Sydney, before visually identifying them in October 2007. Many Bell Miners were spotted by us on the slopes of various National Parks on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range, e.g. at Washpool NP and Barrington Tops NP, Jilliby SCA and Watagans NP in June 2009. They were also spotted by C. Kellenberg at Gillards Beach, Mimosa Rocks NP, NSW, in February 2009. Bell Miners are sometimes also found by us on the western side of the Great Dividing Range. A small mob was seen by us as far West as Dungowan, 15 km South-East of Tamworth, NSW, in June 2011. At that particular location we have found them regularly ever since. They were also found to be present in Capertee NP, near Mudgee, NSW, in December 2015. A single bird, in the company of a mob of Noisy Miners, was heard by us at Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri, NSW, in July 2013. In April 2021 at least 3 Bell Miners were heard calling from River Red Gums along Bullawa Creek, ca. 2 km from the earlier sighting. R. Plumtree reports spotting Bell Miners occasionally in East Gippsland, VIC. In January 2016 they were found nesting in the vicinity of Cassilis, Swifts Creek. The farthest North we have found Bell Miners so far is the Currumbin Valley, Gold Coast hinterland, QLD, where they were heard in May 2014. M. Eaton reports spotting Bell Miners at Mount Glorious, QLD, in March 2017 and at Cunningham's Gap, QLD, in June 2017. M. Eaton also found Bell Miners in the Botanical Garden, Melbourne, VIC, in April 2022.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of an adult Bell Miner (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, February 2013]

Near-lateral view of a Bell Miner sitting on bitumen (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Glorious, QLD, March 2017]

Near-lateral/ventral view of a Bell Miner (photo courtesy of C. Kellenberg)
[Gillards Beach, Mimosa Rocks National Park, NSW, February 2009]

Close-up lateral view of a Bell Miner (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cunningham's Gap, QLD, June 2017]

Lateral view of a Bell Miner with its tongue sticking out (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Garden, Melbourne, VIC, April 2022]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a Bell Miner (photo courtesy of C. Kellenberg)
[Gillards Beach, Mimosa Rocks National Park, NSW, February 2009]

Near-dorsal view of a Bell Miner (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Garden, Melbourne, VIC, April 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a Bell Miner (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Garden, Melbourne, VIC, April 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a Bell Miner (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cunningham's Gap, QLD, June 2017]

Distant ventral view of a Bell in flight (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, October 2016]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of an immature Bell Miner with a load of lerps; note the inconspicuous, pale orbital skin
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Garden, Melbourne, VIC, April 2022]

Lateral view of an immature Bell Miner (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Garden, Melbourne, VIC, April 2022]

Lateral view of an immature Bell Miner issuing its characteristic call
[Near Gloucester, NSW, June 2009]

Lateral view of a juvenile Bell Miner; note the absence of the orange-red orbital skin typical of adults
[Near Gloucester, NSW, June 2009]

Lateral view of a juvenile Bell Miner (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2013]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Jul - Jun

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: 14 days

Fledging age: ca. 15 days

Bell Miners can breed any time of the year and can have several broods per season. They are colonial nesters and members of the colony may help a breeding pair feed the chicks.

Nest

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

Type: Suspended basket

Material: Fine twigs, bark, grass stems, webs, lichen

Height above ground: 4 - 7 m

Bell Miner nest in an horizontal fork (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Miners Way, Cassilis, Swifts Creek, East Gippsland, VIC, February 2016]

Bell Miner nest with the owner next to it (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Miners Way, Cassilis, Swifts Creek, East Gippsland, VIC, February 2016]

Bell Miner sitting on its nest (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Miners Way, Cassilis, Swifts Creek, East Gippsland, VIC, February 2016]

Bell Miner sitting on its nest (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Miners Way, Cassilis, Swifts Creek, East Gippsland, VIC, February 2016]

Bell Miner carrying nesting material (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mount Glorious, QLD, March 2017]

Eggs

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

Size: 23 x 16 mm

Colour: Creamy, with mid- to dark-brown speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Family clan/flock

Immature Bell Miner holding on to the bark of a tree trunk (photo courtesy of E. Scott)
[Roseberry Creek Valley, near Toonumbar NP, northern NSW, November 2016]

Food, Diet

Like all Miners of the Manorina family, Bell Miners feed on insects taken from leaves or bark and on nectar. Part of many birds' diet are "lerps", the crystallized honeydew produced by larvae of psyllid insects on the underside of leaves. Many birds will take both, lerp and insect. However, Bell Miners have the peculiarity of picking off only the lerps, leaving the psyllids alive. In many cases this leaves the insects to cause serious damage to trees.

Near-lateral view of an immature Bell Miner with a load of lerps (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Garden, Melbourne, VIC, April 2022]

Bell Miner feeding on the underside of the leaves of a eucalypt
[Near Nowendoc, NSW, June 2011]

Additional information

There is a separate page with a short description of psyllids and lerps.

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.

bellmin_20151202.m4a	(W NSW)	Contact calls (small mob)	© MD
bellmin_20140521.mp3	(N NSW)	Contact calls (small mob)	© MD
bellmin_me_20220403.m4a	(S VIC)	Contact calls (small mob)	© ME
bellmin_20151202_3.m4a	(W NSW)	Various (small mob)	© MD
bellmin_20150326.m4a	(N NSW)	Various (big mob)	© MD
bellmin_20140524.mp3	(N NSW)	? (few birds)	© MD
bellmin_20151202_2.m4a	(W NSW)	Feeding calls? (small mob)	© MD

More Bell Miner 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, 24 April 2022, 21:34 +00:00