The yellow-throated miner (''Manorina flavigula'') is a species of colonial
honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...
, endemic to
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
. It is also known as the white-rumped miner. The distinctive white rump is easy to observe in the field and distinguishes it from the other miner species.
Yellow-throated miners are medium-sized, grey passerines with yellow throat markings, legs, and bare patches around the eye. The common name 'miner' is an alternative spelling of the word ''
myna
The myna (; also spelled mynah) is a bird of the starling family (Sturnidae). This is a group of passerine birds which are native to southern Asia, especially India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Several species have been introduced to areas like ...
'', ''mynah'' or ''minah'', and is shared with other members of the genus ''
Manorina
''Manorina'' is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner (''M. melanotis'') the yellow-throated miner (''M. flavigula''), the noisy miner (''M. melanocephala'') and the bell miner (''M. melanophrys ...
''. Though miners were originally named due to their resemblance to the
common myna of India that shares similar yellow eye-patch and legs, common mynas are from the starling family and are not closely related to the honeyeater family.
Common mynas are an aggressive introduced pest in Australia, which causes some confusion with the native aggressive miners.
Yellow-throated miners feed on invertebrates, nectar, pollen, lerps, and seeds.
They are the most widely distributed of the genus ''
Manorina
''Manorina'' is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner (''M. melanotis'') the yellow-throated miner (''M. flavigula''), the noisy miner (''M. melanocephala'') and the bell miner (''M. melanophrys ...
'' and inhabit open woodlands and scrublands across most of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
.
Yellow-throated miners live in groups, are social, noisy, and defend territory or resources from other avian species. Their behavior is generally compared to their close relative the
noisy miner
The noisy miner (''Manorina melanocephala'') is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow ...
as they share postures, calls and interactions, though yellow-throated miners are not as well studied.
Taxonomy
In 1840,
John Gould named the yellow-throated miner ''Manorina flavigula'' meaning 'thin-nostrilled, yellow-throated' bird.
It belongs to the family of
honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...
s and Australian chats (
Meliphagidae), which is part of the superfamily
Meliphagoidea. The superfamily also comprises the Australian warblers, scrubwrens, and thornbills (
Acanthizidae); bristlebirds (
Dasyornithidae
The bristlebirds are a family of passerine birds, Dasyornithidae. There are three species in one genus, ''Dasyornis''. The family is endemic to the south-east coast and south-west corner of Australia.Del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A. & Christie D. (edito ...
); fairy-wrens (
Maluridae); and pardalotes (
Pardalotidae).
Yellow-throated miners share the genus ''
Manorina
''Manorina'' is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner (''M. melanotis'') the yellow-throated miner (''M. flavigula''), the noisy miner (''M. melanocephala'') and the bell miner (''M. melanophrys ...
'' with three other endemic Australian miners: the
bell miner (''M. melanophrys''), the
noisy miner
The noisy miner (''Manorina melanocephala'') is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow ...
(''M. melanocephala''), and the endangered
black-eared miner (''M. melanotis''). The yellow-throated miner,
black-eared miner, and
noisy miner
The noisy miner (''Manorina melanocephala'') is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow ...
are very similar in appearance and were previously classified in the genus ''Myzantha'', which is still sometimes listed as the subgenus for those species. From genetic analysis, the closest relatives to the genus ''
Manorina
''Manorina'' is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner (''M. melanotis'') the yellow-throated miner (''M. flavigula''), the noisy miner (''M. melanocephala'') and the bell miner (''M. melanophrys ...
'' are the New Guinea and New Britain ''
Melidectes
''Melidectes'' is a genus of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. All six species are endemic to New Guinea. The generic name is derived from the Greek ''meli'' for honey and ''dektes'' for beggar or receiver.
Description
They are medium- ...
'' honeyeaters.
There are five subspecies of the yellow-throated miner: ''Manorina flavigula melvillenis'' (Mathews, 1912), ''Manorina flavigula lutea'' (Gould, 1840), ''Manorina flavigula wayensis'' (Mathews, 1912), ''Manorina flavigula flavigula'' (Gould, 1840), and ''Manorina flavigula obscura'' (Gould, 1841).
''M. f. lutea'' was called the luteous honeyeater, meaning golden or saffron yellow, by Gould, and was recognized as a separate species as recently as 1913.
''M. f. obscura'' was previously classified with the black-eared miner as the dusky miner,
though the yellow-throated obscura subspecies does not overlap in range with the black-eared miner.
One of the principal threats to the endangered black-eared miner is that they readily hybridize with yellow-throated miners where they co-exist, making some suggest that the black-eared miner should be considered a subspecies of the yellow-throated miner.
However, further research has demonstrated that before dramatic alteration of the black-eared miner's preferred mallee habitat began around 1950, the two species had separable phenotypic characters, so they should be considered separate species.
Description
The yellow-throated miner's color and shape is very similar to the closely related noisy and black-eared miners. A medium-sized honeyeater, it reaches a total length of 22 to 28 centimetres (8.7 – 11.0 in),
a wing length of 12 – 13.8 cm (4.7–5.4 in),
and a bill length of 25 mm (0.9 in).
Adult yellow-throated miners weigh between and .
Yellow-throated, black-eared and noisy miners share a dark grey dorsal surface with medium grey patterning on the feathers. Wings are dark grey with varying levels of yellow highlighting. The ventral feathering is light grey to white with light grey scalloping on the chest. The feathering surrounding the eye is black. The beak and bare skin-patch around the eyes are bright yellow, and the iris is brown. Legs are also yellow, though shade and brightness varies. Fledgling birds have undefined, fluffy light grey chests without scalloping. Immature birds can be identified in the hand by retained juvenile remiges and rectrices, which are more brownish.
Yellow-throated miners are distinctive from the other miners by their clean white rump, instead of the continuous grey from the back that the noisy and black-eared miners have. The white-rump is clearly visible as yellow-throated miners are flying away, so this feature is often used in the field where two miner species overlap. Yellow-throated miners have a varying amount of yellow highlighting above and below the beak, on the forehead and chin, as well as on the sides of the throat. This differs from noisy miners which have white above the beak and no yellow highlighting on the forehead or neck, but can have a small amount of yellow on the chin. Yellow-throated miners have paler feathering on the lower jaw compared to the throat, while pure black-eared miners have darker feathering on the lower jaw compared to that of the throat. Hybrids between the yellow-throated and black-eared miners have a range of rump and lower jaw shades.
The different races of yellow-throated miner have small color and size variation. ''M. f. obscura'' is known for being darker and ''M. f. lutea'' is more yellow.
Distribution and habitat
The yellow-throated miner has the widest distribution of the ''
Manorina
''Manorina'' is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner (''M. melanotis'') the yellow-throated miner (''M. flavigula''), the noisy miner (''M. melanocephala'') and the bell miner (''M. melanophrys ...
'' species, and it is found across most of
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, except east of the
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, also known as the East Australian Cordillera or the Eastern Highlands, is a cordillera system in eastern Australia consisting of an expansive collection of mountain ranges, plateaus and rolling hills, that runs rough ...
, on
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest unspoiled wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth’s last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación ...
, the very north-eastern
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
, and small patches of the driest parts in
Central Australia
Central Australia, also sometimes referred to as the Red Centre, is an inexactly defined region associated with the geographic centre of Australia. In its narrowest sense it describes a region that is limited to the town of Alice Springs and i ...
. ''M. f. wayensis'' has the largest distribution across the middle of Western Australia through to
Western Queensland. ''M. f. flavigula'' is the easternmost sub-species, and covers most of Queensland except
Cape York and the coast from
South East Queensland south and extends south through
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
and inland
Victoria. ''M. f. lutea'' extends across the northern parts of
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...
and the Northern Territory. ''M. f. obscura'' occurs in
south-western Western Australia . ''M. f. melvillenis'' is found in the very northern part of the
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory (commonly abbreviated as NT; formally the Northern Territory of Australia) is an states and territories of Australia, Australian territory in the central and central northern regions of Australia. The Northern Territory ...
.
Yellow-throated miners are primarily found in arid and semi-arid regions, but do extend into temperate, subtropical, and tropical areas. They are found in woodlands and scrublands, including
acacia
''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
,
eucalyptus
''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including '' Corymbia'', they are commonly known as euca ...
,
mallee, and
casuarina
''Casuarina'' is a genus of 17 tree species in the family Casuarinaceae, native to Australia, the Indian subcontinent, southeast Asia, islands of the western Pacific Ocean, and eastern Africa. It was once treated as the sole genus in the fami ...
.
Similar to noisy miners they like edges and so adapt well to disturbed habitat, and can be found in regrowth and along roads or next to cleared lands.
They like some undergrowth and recolonize restored habitat, but are rarely found in dense growth like mature mallee.
Though they prefer some tree cover, yellow-throated miners will venture further into open areas like pastures than noisy miners will.
Behaviour
![Yellow-throatedMiner Group-JulieBurgher](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Yellow-throatedMiner_Group-JulieBurgher.jpg)
Behaviour has been observed to be similar to other ''
Manorina
''Manorina'' is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner (''M. melanotis'') the yellow-throated miner (''M. flavigula''), the noisy miner (''M. melanocephala'') and the bell miner (''M. melanophrys ...
'' species, but the yellow-throated miner is not as well studied as the
noisy miner
The noisy miner (''Manorina melanocephala'') is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow ...
or
bell miner. Behaviour comparisons are generally with the noisy miner as they seem to be more similar: both prefer more open forests and adapt well to certain types of disturbed habitats.
Yellow-throated miners are possibly less sedentary than the other miner species,
though they occur in some locations year around, and there are no known migration patterns for them. They are more often seen in larger groups during the non-breeding season, but these are likely local movements only.
Social organization and aggression
Yellow-throated miners, like the other ''
Manorina
''Manorina'' is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner (''M. melanotis'') the yellow-throated miner (''M. flavigula''), the noisy miner (''M. melanocephala'') and the bell miner (''M. melanophrys ...
'' species, have a complex social structure and can live in communal groups of up to 50 birds. They are often found in smaller groups of up to a dozen birds, and sometimes in pairs or solitary.
No major behaviour studies have been conducted, but they appear to have a similar social structure to noisy miners as they share many calls, postures, and interactive behaviours. Calls are higher pitched than noisy miner calls, but are readily recognizable as a miner call.
They are watchful and are often the first to alarm when a predator appears. As with the other miner species, they are known to be very aggressive to other birds, particularly smaller insectivores and honeyeaters. Yellow-throated miners have been observed monopolizing small patches of remnant vegetation along roadsides and dividing paddocks, which cuts off corridors for smaller birds to move through.
Yellow-throated miners, like their relatives the bell miner and noisy miner, have been linked to reduced bird species richness and higher psyllid abundance in disturbed mallee in Victoria.
However, a follow-up study found that yellow-throated miner removal did not significantly increase avian richness, as it has done in studies with bell miners and noisy miners.
Though yellow-throated miners drive away many species and are not afraid to attack larger birds, they have been found to share territory with
grey butcherbird
The grey butcherbird (''Cracticus torquatus'') is a widely distributed species endemic to Australia. It occurs in a range of different habitats including arid, semi-arid and temperate zones. It is found across southern Australia, but is absent f ...
s and
pied butcherbird
The pied butcherbird (''Cracticus nigrogularis'') is a songbird native to Australia. Described by John Gould in 1837, it is a black and white bird long with a long hooked bill. Its head and throat are black, making a distinctive hood; the man ...
s, and even nest in close proximity to those species. This is surprising as butcherbirds are also aggressive species that predate nests and birds, including larger species than yellow-throated miners, but this association may be to improve the mutual defense of both species, as yellow-throated miners are very watchful and noisy at the approach of a predator.
Though they are often aggressive to other species, yellow-throated miners have also been observed feeding with mixed flocks of honeyeaters, including
noisy miner
The noisy miner (''Manorina melanocephala'') is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow ...
s,
white-plumed honeyeaters,
friarbird
The friarbirds, also called leatherheads, are about 15 species of relatively large honeyeaters in the genus ''Philemon''. Additionally, the single member of the genus ''Melitograis'' is called the white-streaked friarbird. Friarbirds are found ...
s, and
blue-faced honeyeaters.
Feeding
Like most honeyeaters, yellow-throated miners have a varied diet, including invertebrates, nectar, and occasionally fruit.
Feeding is an active, gregarious, and noisy activity generally carried out in small groups of five to ten, but sometimes in pairs, occasionally large groups, and sometimes with other honeyeater species.
Yellow-throated miners forage in the canopy, probing flowers for nectar and gleaning leaves and bark for spiders and insects.
However, they do less gleaning than the other miners. Yellow-throated miners will catch insects on the wing, using a sally-stall method around 6% of the time, and they use more wing-powered maneuvers than the other ''
Manorina
''Manorina'' is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner (''M. melanotis'') the yellow-throated miner (''M. flavigula''), the noisy miner (''M. melanocephala'') and the bell miner (''M. melanophrys ...
'' species.
They also forage on the ground, probing around herbs, leaf litter, and stones for invertebrates.
Ratio of insects to nectar varies between studies from 65:35
to 70:30.
Chicks are fed almost exclusively insects until they fledge and begin exploring flowers for nectar.
Breeding
![Yellow-throatedMinerFamily](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cc/Yellow-throatedMinerFamily.jpg)
As with the other ''
Manorina
''Manorina'' is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner (''M. melanotis'') the yellow-throated miner (''M. flavigula''), the noisy miner (''M. melanocephala'') and the bell miner (''M. melanophrys ...
'' species, cooperative and colonial breeding is common, but breeding has also been recorded in isolated pairs.
Pair breeding attempts without helpers have a higher failure rate.
Breeding has been recorded throughout the year, but is most common from August through October, and multiple clutches are common.
The nest is a standard cup or bowl nest built into the fork of a tree with good cover.
It is built of woven twigs and grasses and a thick soft interior lining, often of wool. It is similar, but more substantive than the nest of the noisy miner.
Clutch size is typically three or four eggs, but there are recordings of both two and five eggs. Eggs are pink-buff eggs with spots concentrated on the larger end.
Females typically do all the incubation, but males have been recorded incubating in strong wind. Eggs hatch after an incubation period of 15–16 days. Both parents and any available helpers will feed young in the nest.
Up to seven birds have been observed at nests.
Helpers are unstudied in yellow-throated miners, but are generally young or unmated males in both
bell miners and
noisy miner
The noisy miner (''Manorina melanocephala'') is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow ...
s. Nests can be parasitized by either the
pallid cuckoo
The pallid cuckoo (''Cacomantis pallidus'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is found in Australia, with some migration to the islands of Timor and Papua New Guinea. It is between 28 and 33 cm ...
or
common koel.
Parasitism by pallid cuckoos has been observed to be as high as 12%.
Hybridization and the black-eared miner
![HybridandYellow-throatedMiner-JulieBurgher](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/HybridandYellow-throatedMiner-JulieBurgher.jpg)
Yellow-throated miners can hybridize with both
noisy miner
The noisy miner (''Manorina melanocephala'') is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, and is endemic to eastern and southeastern Australia. This miner is a grey bird, with a black head, orange-yellow beak and feet, a distinctive yellow ...
s and endangered
black-eared miners, but hybrids with noisy miners seem rare, even though their ranges overlap significantly and they are seen in mixed flocks.
However, hybridization with black-eared miners is one of the greatest threats to the black-eared miner's continued existence.
Black-eared miners prefer thick, mature mallee habitat, so only infrequently encountered yellow-throated miners until the mature mallee clearing in the mid-twentieth century. Disturbed and partially cleared lands are preferred by the yellow-throated miner, which quickly expanded into the newly opened landscape and began breeding with the black-eared miner. Analysis shows that prior to 1950 the two species had distinct phenotypes, but today there is a continuum due to hybridization.
Culls of yellow-throated miners have been done to try to prevent hybridization in reserves that hold the small populations of remaining genetically distinct black-eared miners.
References
*
*
External links
Photos, audio and video of yellow-throated minerfrom
Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library
Recordings of yellow-throated minerfrom Graeme Chapman's sound library
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1078213
yellow-throated miner
The yellow-throated miner (''Manorina flavigula'') is a species of colonial honeyeater, endemic to Australia. It is also known as the white-rumped miner. The distinctive white rump is easy to observe in the field and distinguishes it from the ot ...
Endemic birds of Australia
yellow-throated miner
The yellow-throated miner (''Manorina flavigula'') is a species of colonial honeyeater, endemic to Australia. It is also known as the white-rumped miner. The distinctive white rump is easy to observe in the field and distinguishes it from the ot ...
yellow-throated miner
The yellow-throated miner (''Manorina flavigula'') is a species of colonial honeyeater, endemic to Australia. It is also known as the white-rumped miner. The distinctive white rump is easy to observe in the field and distinguishes it from the ot ...