mdahlem.net WWW

Aust birds    Bird names   News   1-26    Habitats    Key plants    Glossary    Plumage    Nests    Tips    Thumbnails    Gen. info    Sponsors    Photos for sale
NON-PASSERINES     1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9    10     11     12     13     14	15     16     17     18     19     20     21     22     23     24     25     26     PASSERINES
Common names sorted alphabetically: A   B   C   D   E   F   G   H   I   J   K   L   M   N   O   P   Q   R   S   T   W   Y

18

Western Wattlebird (Anthochaera lunulata) Alternate name(s): "Lunulated Wattlebird", "Mock Wattlebird" Aboriginal name(s): "djoongong*" Size: 29-33 cm (male), 27-31 cm (female); wing span: 33-38 cm Weight: 48-78 g

Australia: Family Group 18 Family Group 18 Table Yellow Wattlebird Red Wattlebird Little Wattlebird Western Wattlebird Regent Honeyeater Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Striped Honeyeater Helmeted Friarbird Silver-crowned Friarbird Noisy Friarbird Little Friarbird Blue-faced Honeyeater Bell Miner Yellow-throated Miner Noisy Miner Macleay's Honeyeater Tawny-breasted Honeyeater Yellow-spotted Honeyeater Lewin's Honeyeater Yellow-faced Honeyeater Graceful Honeyeater Bridled Honeyeater Eungella Honeyeater Singing Honeyeater Mangrove Honeyeater Varied Honeyeater White-lined Honeyeater White-gaped Honeyeater White-eared Honeyeater Yellow Honeyeater Yellow-throated Honeyeater Yellow-tufted Honeyeater Purple-gaped Honeyeater Grey-headed Honeyeater Yellow-plumed Honeyeater Grey-fronted Honeyeater Fuscous Honeyeater Yellow-tinted Honeyeater White-plumed Honeyeater Brown Honeyeater Bar-breasted Honeyeater Brown-backed Honeyeater Rufous-throated Honeyeater Grey Honeyeater Tawny-crowned Honeyeater Rufous-banded Honeyeater New Holland Honeyeater White-cheeked Honeyeater Crescent Honeyeater White-fronted Honeyeater Painted Honeyeater Black-chinned Honeyeater White-throated Honeyeater Strong-billed Honeyeater White-naped Honeyeater Brown-headed Honeyeater Black-headed Honeyeater Eastern Spinebill Western Spinebill Banded Honeyeater Black Honeyeater Pied Honeyeater Scarlet Honeyeater Red-headed Honeyeater Dusky Honeyeater Olive-backed Sunbird Gibberbird Crimson Chat Orange Chat Yellow Chat White-fronted Chat Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Western Wattlebirds are large nectar-eating birds. The general appearance of their plumage is dark grey-brown, with prominent white to silver-grey streaking. The forehead is almost black, while below the eyes there are prominent silver-grey cheek patches. Both front and back are striated. The front has a lot more silver-grey streaking than the back, which appears mostly dark grey-brown. The wings, rather than being striated, are dark-grey, with light-grey edge lining. The undertail coverts are barred. The grey tail is very long, with feathers that have different, tapered lengths, each having a white end. Females are smaller than males. The irises are dark-brown. The long, curved bill, the legs and the feet are all dark-grey. Juveniles have less striation than adults. Twitcher's tip Compared with Little Wattlebirds, Western Wattlebirds have more silver-grey cheeks.

Taxonomy, classification See Western Wattlebird at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information Western Wattlebirds have now been given species status and are not any longer considered to be a race of the Little Wattlebird.

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 Western Wattlebird is available HERE . Western Wattlebirds are endemic to south-western Australia. They are found only in south-western WA, up to about Geraldton in the North, through the hills to the East of Perth, and from there up to Cape Arid NP on the WA South coast. Western Wattlebirds have a preference for heath and coastal woodland, but they can also be found in scrub and gardens.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Greaves reports spotting Western Wattlebirds at Bungendore Park, near Perth, WA, in June 2015. M. Eaton reports finding Western Wattlebirds at Triandra Reserve, Cockburn, WA, in April 2019.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-lateral view of a Western Wattlebird (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Bungendore Park, near Perth, WA, June 2015]

Lateral view of a Western Wattlebird from below (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Bungendore Park, near Perth, WA, June 2015]

Near-dorsal view of a Western Wattlebird (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Bungendore Park, near Perth, WA, June 2015]

Ventral view of a Western Wattlebird (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Bungendore Park, near Perth, WA, June 2015]

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.

wstwatt_jg_20150613.m4a	(SW WA)	Various	© JG
wstwatt_jg_20160710.m4a	(SW WA)	Various	© JG
wstwatt_jg_20160710_2.m4a	(SW WA)	Various	© JG

More Western 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.

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: Tue, 2 February 2021, 5:25 +00:00