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Yellow Wattlebird
(Anthochaera paradoxa)
: "Wattle-bird",
"Long-wattle Bird", "Tasmanian Wattlebird"
Size: 38-48 cm
Weight: 105-210 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Yellow Wattlebirds are by far the tallest wattlebirds (and
thereby the tallest nectar-eating birds) in Australia.
They have long yellow-orange wattles hanging from their
cheeks. The face, except for some fine grey stripes, is
mostly white. The frons, crown and neck are streaked
dark-grey on white. The upper chest is streaked dark-grey
on white. This streaking continues down the breast and
along the flanks, becoming wider and with decreasing
contrast downwards, surrounding the characteristic
yellow belly patch. The back is scalloped grey-brown with
light-grey edge lining. The wing feathers have white
front edges. The long grey tail has feathers of tapered
length, each ending in a white tip on the underside.
The irises are brown. The bill is dark-grey, while
the legs and feet are greyish-pink.
Juveniles
have shorter wattles and no yellow belly patch yet.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Yellow
Wattlebird at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to
ebird.org
.
The global distribution of the Yellow Wattlebird is available
HERE
.
Yellow Wattlebirds are found only on Tasmania and King Island
in the Bass Strait. Basically the eastern 2/3 of Tasmania are
populated by race
"paradoxa". Occasionally, they venture a bit further west,
but they do not normally cross to the (usually wet and windy)
western side of the central highlands and they basically never
reach the West coast of Tasmania. The range of race "kingi" is
restricted to King Island, to the North-west of Tasmania, only.
Yellow Wattlebirds have a preference for eucalypt forest and woodland, in particular
coastal heath
with young
eucalypts. They will also visit gardens in search of nectar.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
B. Hensen reports spotting Yellow Wattlebirds, race
"paradoxa", in Hobart, TAS, and on Bruny Island, TAS,
in March 2016.
All photographic and sighting information presented on this
page has kindly been contributed by B. Hensen.
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Photos |
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Race "paradoxa"
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ADULT |
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Frontal view of an adult Yellow Wattlebird; note the long
wattles with their orange tips (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Hobart, TAS, March 2016]
Frontal view of a Yellow Wattlebird issuing its call
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Hobart, TAS, March 2016]
Lateral view of a Yellow Wattlebird issuing its call; note the
tapered length of the tail feathers (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Hobart, TAS, March 2016]
Near-dorsal view of a Yellow Wattlebird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Bruny Island, TAS, March 2016]
Dorsal view of a Yellow Wattlebird (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Hobart, TAS, March 2016]
Dorsal view of a Yellow Wattlebird issuing its call
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Hobart, TAS, March 2016]
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.