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Yellow-throated MinerAlternate name(s): "Dusky Miner", "White-rumped Miner", "Mickey*" ![]() Size: 26-28 cm Weight: 55-65 g |
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Similar |
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Photos |
Race "flavigula"
Not the photos you want? Or are you after even better quality? Have a
look here .
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Full-frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
[Pilliga Bore Bath, near Pilliga, NSW, November 2017]
Frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[St. George, QLD, August 2018]
Frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bourke, NSW, June 2022]
Near-lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[St. George, QLD, August 2018]
Near-lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Bourke, NSW, June 2022]
Near-lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[St. George, QLD, August 2018]
Lateral portrait of a Yellow-throated Miner
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2010]
Lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner studying the photographer
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2017]
Close-up lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner in an ironbark
eucalypt tree
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2017]
Lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2010]
Dorsal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2010]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Fledgling Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of C. Hayne)
Race "wayensis"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Yulara, NT, March 2015]
Frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Barkley Highway, 50 km NW of Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]
Frontal/ventral view of a soaking wet Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Moondarra, near Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]
Near-frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Barkley Highway, 50 km NW of Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]
Near-frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Barkley Highway, 50 km NW of Mount Isa, QLD, June 2021]
Lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Boolardy Station, Murchison, WA, July 2015]
Family clan of Yellow-throated Miners scavenging "bikkies"
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Yulara, NT, March 2015]
Family clan of Yellow-throated Miners in a dead tree
(photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Bedourie to Boulia Highway, QLD, September 2019]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Near-frontal view of a fledgling Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Pears)
[Exmouth, WA, May 2021]
Near-lateral view of a fledgling Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of M. Pears)
[Exmouth, WA, May 2021]
Race "obscura"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Near-frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Carramar Golf Course, Perth, WA, April 2016]
Lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Carramar Golf Course, Perth, WA, April 2016]
Near-dorsal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Carramar Golf Course, Perth, WA, April 2016]
Race "melvillensis"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Distant lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Pickertaramoor, Melville Island, NT, in December 2016]
Race "lutea"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Full-frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Lake Argyle, near Kununurra, WA, April 2018]
Frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Lake Argyle, near Kununurra, WA, April 2018]
Frontal view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Lake Argyle, near Kununurra, WA, April 2018]
Here one can clearly see the yellow forehead of a Yellow-throated
Miner, race "lutea" (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Lake Argyle, near Kununurra, WA, April 2018]
Lateral view of a Yellow-throated Miner
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, December 2019]
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Breeding information |
Breeding season: July - Jan | Eggs: 3 - 4 | Incubation period: 16? days | Fledging age: 17? - 19? days |
Given the right conditions, Yellow-throated Miners can breed any time of the year. Especially in arid inland regions their breeding cycle depends more on rainfall events than time of year.
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
Type: Basket | Material: Twigs, grass; lined with wool and feathers | Height above ground: 2 - 10? m |
Yellow-throated Miner nest in a eucalypt tree
[Moree, NSW, September 2015]
Yellow-throated Miner incubating its eggs
[Moree, NSW, September 2015]
Both Yellow-throated Miner parents bringing food for their chicks
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2014]
Yellow-throated Miner collecting nesting material
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2007]
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Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay] |
Size: 25 x 18 mm | Colour: Light-brown, heavily speckled with mid-brown speckles | Shape: Tapered oval |
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Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Communal | Mobility: Sedentary | Elementary unit: Family clan |
Like all species of miners, Yellow-throated Miners are highly sociable. They live in family units of up to 10 or 12 birds.
Part of a family of Yellow-throated Miners; such congregations
tend to be rather noisy affairs...
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2011]
Family clan of Yellow-throated Miners resting high up in an
eucalypt
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, June 2016]
Yellow-throated Miners that transgress against the rules of the
mob get to feel where they belong
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, June 2021]
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Food, Diet |
Adults: Nectar, insects | Dependents: Insects | Water intake: Daily |
Like all Miners of the Manorina family, Yellow-throated Miners feed mostly on insects taken from leaves or bark, rather than nectar.
Yellow-throated Miner taking nectar from mistletoe
[Near Mungindi, NSW, June 2013]
Yellow-throated Miner that has caught an insect
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2007]
Yellow-throated Miner taking nectar from a eucalypt tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2011]
Different example of a Yellow-throated Miner taking nectar from a
eucalypt tree
[Pilliga, NSW, November 2013]
This Yellow-throated Miner came to pick its feed of psyllids and lerps from the underside
of a tree's leaves
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, May 2006]
Yellow-throated Miner taking a lerp from the underside of an
eucalypt leaf
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[St. George, QLD, August 2018]
Yellow-throated Miners will happily scavenge food from humans
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Yulara, NT, March 2015]
Yellow-throated Miner with a liking for potato chips;
ripple cut seems to be in favour... (photo courtesy of
J. Greaves)
[Carramar Golf Course, Perth, WA, April 2016]
Yellow-throated Miner drinking from a leaking water storage tank
[Flinders Ranges,
SA, March 2008]
This Yellow-throated Miner came in for a drink from one of our bowls;
the near-frontal view shows clearly both yellow throat patches (photo
taken through a fence)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, July 2011]
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Additional information |
There is a separate page with a short description of psyllids and lerps.
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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.
ytminer_20140120.mp3 |
flavigula (NW NSW) |
Contact calls | © MD | |
ytminer_20180516.m4a |
flavigula (NW NSW) |
Upset (mob) | © MD | |
ytminer_20141109.mp3 |
flavigula (NW NSW) |
Begging calls? | © MD | |
ytminer_pb_20210222.m4a |
lutea (Top End, NT) |
? (foraging) | © PB | |
ytminer_pb_20210222_2.m4a |
lutea (Top End, NT) |
? (foraging) | © PB |
More Yellow-throated Miner sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.