Bell miner

Bell miner
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Meliphagidae
Genus: Manorina
Species:
M. melanophrys
Binomial name
Manorina melanophrys
(Latham, 1801)
Bell miner range[2]

The bell miner (Manorina melanophrys), commonly known as the bellbird, is a colonial honeyeater, endemic to southeastern Australia. The common name refers to their bell-like call. 'Miner' is an old alternative spelling of 'myna', and is shared with other members of the genus Manorina.[3] The birds feed almost exclusively on the dome-like coverings, referred to as 'bell lerps', of certain psyllid bugs that feed on eucalyptus sap from the leaves. The psyllids make these bell lerps from their own honeydew secretions in order to protect themselves from predators and the environment.

Bell miners live in large, complex, social groups. Within each group, there are subgroups consisting of several breeding pairs, but also including a number of birds that are not currently breeding. The nonbreeders help in providing food for the young in all the nests within the subgroup, even though they are not necessarily closely related to them.[4] The birds defend their colony area communally and aggressively, excluding most other passerine species. They do this in order to protect their territory from other insect-eating birds that would eat the bell lerps on which they feed. Whenever the local forests die back, due to increased lerp psyllid infestations, bell miners undergo a population boom.

The heritage listed mountain village of Bellbrook was named after the distinctive sound of local bellbirds in 1882.

  1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Manorina melanophrys". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22704430A93968246. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22704430A93968246.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ "Manorina (Manorina) melanophrys (Latham, 1801) Bell Miner". Atlas of Living Australia. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 20 March 2016.
  3. ^ For the derivation of 'miner' from 'myna', see comment at Common Indian Myna [1] Retrieved 12 September 2013
  4. ^ Clarke, M. F. (1989). "The pattern of helping in the bell miner (Manorina melanophrys)". Ethology. 80 (1–4): 292–306. Bibcode:1989Ethol..80..292C. doi:10.1111/j.1439-0310.1989.tb00748.x.