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MistletoebirdAlternate name(s): "Flowerpecker", "Dicaeum Swallow" ![]() Size: 10-11 cm Weight: 7.5-11 g |
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Photos |
Race "hirundinaceum"
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ADULT |
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MALE |
Close-up frontal view of a male Mistletoebird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2019]
Frontal view of a male Mistletoebird
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Scrub Lane, Samsonvale, QLD, May 2020]
Frontal view of a male Mistletoebird taking a large fruit
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, June 2017]
Near-frontal view of a male Mistletoebird with a conspicuously
broad stripe down its front
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2020]
Near-frontal view of a male Mistletoebird looking sideways
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Lakefield NP, QLD, September 2020]
Near-frontal view of a male Mistletoebird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2020]
Close-up lateral view of a male Mistletoebird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2020]
Close-up lateral view of a male Mistletoebird, temporarily without
tail feathers (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Oxley Common, Brisbane, QLD, June 2017]
Lateral/ventral view of a male Mistletoebird
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Scrub Lane, Samsonvale, QLD, May 2020]
Close-up lateral/ventral view of a male Mistletoebird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]
Close-up lateral/ventral view of a male Mistletoebird issuing its
call
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2022]
Near-dorsal/ventral view of a male Mistletoebird
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, February 2006]
Dorsal view of a male Mistletoebird
[20 km South of Narrabri, NSW, February 2006]
Ventral view of a male Mistletoebird coming out of a
Callistemon tree
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2020]
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FEMALE |
Frontal view of a female Mistletoebird (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2018]
Near-frontal view of a female Mistletoebird (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2018]
Near-lateral view of a female Mistletoebird (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2018]
Lateral view of a female Mistletoebird (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2018]
Near-dorsal/ventral view of a female Mistletoebird
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cape Melville, Cape York peninsula, QLD, August 2019]
Ventral view of a female Mistletoebird wiping its bill
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2018]
Female Mistletoebird hiding in dense foliage of a eucalypt tree for a good night's sleep
[Eulah Creek, NSW, 2006]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Frontal view of an immature male Mistletoebird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2022]
Near-frontal view of an immature male Mistletoebird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2022]
Near-lateral view of an immature male Mistletoebird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2022]
Near-lateral/ventral view of an immature, probably female, Mistletoebird
[Eulah Creek, NSW, March 2022]
Full-frontal view of a juvenile, probably male, Mistletoebird
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2014]
Near-frontal view of a juvenile, probably male, Mistletoebird
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay South, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2014]
Lateral view of a juvenile Mistletoebird
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Palmerston Golf Course, Palmerston, NT, January 2020]
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Breeding information |
Breeding season: Oct - Jan | Eggs: 1 - 3 | Incubation period: 14 - 16 days | Fledging age: 15+ days |
Nest building: Female | Incubation: Female | Dependent care: Female & male |
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
Type: Domed hanging basket | Material: Soft plant threads and down | Height above ground: 2 - 5 m |
Close-up view of a Mistletoebird nest
[Narrabri, NSW, December 2016]
Female Mistletoebird in its nest
[Narrabri, NSW, December 2016]
Female Mistletoebird ducking into its nest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2008]
Here she is, settled in
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2008]
Male Mistletoebird carrying food for its chicks
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay Doctors Flat Road, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2013]
Male Mistletoebird feeding its chicks in the nest
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay Doctors Flat Road, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2013]
Female Mistletoebird feeding a chick in the nest
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay Doctors Flat Road, East Gippsland, VIC, December 2013]
Well-camouflaged Mistletoebird nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cooloola NP, QLD, January 2019]
Female Mistletoebird collecting nesting material (threads from a palm tree)
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2012]
Closer look at the female Mistletoebird carrying her load
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2012]
Here a view of a female Mistletoebird at the source of the material
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2010]
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Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay] |
Size: 17 x 11 mm | Colour: White | Shape: Tapered oval |
View into a Mistletoebird's nest, showing three little white eggs inside
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2008]
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Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Territorial | Mobility: Sedentary | Elementary unit: Pair |
The propagation of mistletoe plants depends entirely on the habits of Mistletoebirds. They are the only bird species with a stomach adapted to the digestion of the toxic fruit. The mistletoe seeds are in fact only partially digested and then shed with a sticky outer layer, with the seed still active. Mistletoebirds have the habit of rubbing the sticky excrement off their backs and leaving it attached to the perch.
Female Mistletoebird in the process of discharge (photo courtesy of A.
Ross-Taylor)
[Highland Park, Gold Coast, QLD, April 2014]
Female Mistletoebird attaching its sticky mess to a branch
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Swan Reach, East Gippsland, VIC, August 2018]
The sticky mess left behind by a Mistletoebird that could
not quite hold on to a metal wire
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2008]
"Favourite" tree of Mistletoebirds - a box gum eucalypt (click here for more information on
mistletoe)
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, February 2009]
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Food, Diet |
Adults: Mistletoe fruit/nectar | Dependents: ? | Water intake: None? |
The Mistletoebird is unique in that it feeds mainly on the fruit of mistletoe. It is also the only bird (possibly with the exception of the Painted Honeyeater) that can digest these berries. The seeds inside the berries go through the birds' digestive system unharmed, which is how mistletoes are propagated.
Although partly obscured by a twig, one can still see this male
Mistletoebird take a mature (red) mistletoe fruit; the plant
has more unripe (green) fruit on it
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2016]
Mistletoebirds do not eat fruit entirely, but squeeze
pulp and seeds out
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Swan Reach, East Gippsland, VIC, August 2018]
Male Mistletoebird with a big appetite for fruit
(photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Mount Molloy, QLD, November 2009]
Male Mistletoebird taking a large fruit (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Anstead Reserve, Anstead, QLD, June 2017]
Flowers on a mistletoe
branch; they are a major attraction to many nectar-eating birds, such as
e.g. Singing Honeyeaters;
this particular mistletoe
is growing in a box gum
(eucalypt) - note how the leaves look like eucalypt leaves
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2007]
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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.
mistle_20161206.mp3 |
hirundinaceum (NW NSW) |
Contact calls | © MD | |
mistle_20150718.mp3 |
hirundinaceum (NW NSW) |
Contact call (male?) | © MD | |
mistle_20200929.m4a |
hirundinaceum (NW NSW) |
Territorial calls? (male) | © MD | |
mistle_20171027.m4a |
hirundinaceum (NW NSW) |
Territorial calls? (male) | © MD | |
mistle_jg_20160806.mp3 |
hirundinaceum (central WA) |
Flying over | © JG | |
mistle_20140521_3.mp3 |
hirundinaceum (N NSW) |
Various | © MD | |
mistle_20181218.m4a |
hirundinaceum (NW NSW) |
? (female) | © MD | |
mistle_pb_20190805.m4a |
hirundinaceum (Top End, NT) |
? | © PB | |
mistle_pb_20190805_2.m4a |
hirundinaceum (Top End, NT) |
? | © PB | |
mistle_20221112.mp3 |
hirundinaceum (NW NSW) |
? | © MD |
More Mistletoebird sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.