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18

Little Wattlebird

(Anthochaera chrysoptera)
Alternate name(s): "Brush Wattlebird", "Mock Gillbird", "Mocker",
"Mock Wattlebird", "Cookay-cock", "Biddyquock"

Size: 27-31 cm
Weight: 45-85 g

Similar
species

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

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Little Wattlebird at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "chrysoptera"

Not the photos you want? Or are you after even better quality? Have a look here .

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Little Wattlebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Garden, Melbourne, VIC, April 2022]

Frontal view of a Little Wattlebird having a stretch (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, July 2017]

Close-up near-frontal portrait of a Little Wattlebird
[Cape Byron, NSW, May 2014]

Near-frontal portrait of a Little Wattlebird
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, August 2015]

Near-frontal view of a Little Wattlebird with its bill dusted with pollen(photo courtesy of I. Duncan)
[Melbourne Botanical Gardens, VIC, July 2012]

Near-frontal view of a Little Wattlebird (photo courtesy of C. Kellenberg)
[Point Plomer, Limeburners Creek, NSW, February 2009]

Near-lateral view of a Little Wattlebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[South West Rocks, NSW, July 2017]

Little Wattlebird checking whether all is safe! First to the right...
[Hat Head, NSW, January 2011]

... then to the left
[Hat Head, NSW, January 2011]

Near-lateral view of a Little Wattlebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Yamba, NSW, January 2021]

Near-lateral view of a Little Wattlebird looking backwards (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Yamba, NSW, January 2021]

Close-up lateral view of a Little Wattlebird in a coastal banksia
[Point Plomer, Limeburners Creek NP, NSW, October 2013]

Lateral view of a Little Wattlebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Botanical Garden, Melbourne, VIC, April 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a Little Wattlebird looking back at the observer (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Dundowran Beach, Hervey Bay, QLD, May 2018]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a Little Wattlebird (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[South West Rocks, NSW, July 2017]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of a Little Wattlebird; the remnant yellow gape may indicate that this bird is still sub-adult (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, December 2017]

Race "tasmanica"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-lateral view of a Little Wattlebird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Peter Murrell Reserve, near Kingston, TAS, March 2016]

Race "halmaturina"

No photos of this race are available yet. However, see below for sound recordings.

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial/ communal Mobility: Dispersive Elementary unit: Pair/flock

 

Little Wattlebirds are territorial, but can feed in areas with flowering trees in large numbers.

Food, Diet

Like many other honeyeaters, Little Wattlebirds do not exclusively feed on nectar, but use their sticky tongue to take insects too. They are also known to take fruit. For gathering nectar, especially in (near-)coastal regions, they have a preference for banksia flowers.

Little Wattlebird feasting on the flowers of a grevillea
[Hat Head, NSW, January 2011]

Close-up view of a Little Wattlebird feeding on the nectar of a coastal banksia
[Cape Byron, NSW, May 2014]

Close-up lateral view of a Little Wattlebird feeding on the nectar of a coastal banksia
[Point Plomer, Limeburners Creek NP, NSW, October 2013]

Lateral view of a Little Wattlebird feeding on the nectar of a Grevillea robusta (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Metung, near Lakes Entrance, East Gippsland, VIC, November 2019]

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.

litwatt_20140526.mp3 chrysoptera
(NE NSW)
Contact call? © MD
litwatt_20150818.m4a chrysoptera
(NE NSW)
Contact calls? © MD
litwatt_20150327_3.m4a chrysoptera
(NE NSW)
Territorial call? © MD
whchhon_20150327_5.m4a chrysoptera
(NE NSW)
Fighting over food source (with White-cheeked Honeyeater) © MD
whchhon_20150327_6.m4a chrysoptera
(NE NSW)
Fighting over food source (with White-cheeked Honeyeater) © MD
litwatt_20150327.m4a chrysoptera
(NE NSW)
Various © MD
litwatt_20150327_2.m4a chrysoptera
(NE NSW)
? © MD
litwatt_20150327_4.m4a chrysoptera
(NE NSW)
? © MD
litwatt_20150327_5.m4a chrysoptera
(NE NSW)
? © MD
 
litwatt_jg_20160325.mp3 halmaturina
(Kangaroo Island)
Territorial call? © JG

More Little Wattlebird 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.