Soft colours of a young Little Wattlebird
This bird was busy gathering food on an Old Man Banksia tree (Banksia serrata). It has a small insect in its beak:
I think the bird is a Little Wattlebird, though others that I’ve seen have been darker and greyer in colour. Perhaps it’s a juvenile. I considered an oriole, but the stripes on this bird’s chest are more like those of a wattlebird than an oriole, and the shapes of the beak and head are closer to those of a wattlebird too.
Little Wattlebirds don’t have the red wattles that give this genus its name. These birds are classified as honeyeaters, but like most honeyeaters they’ll grab a passing insect too. This bird was at Dobroyd Head, one of the pieces of land that jut into Sydney Harbour.
Here’s a view that shows more of the wings and back:
Common name: Little Wattlebird
Scientific name: Anthochaera chrysoptera
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 11 March 2023 (autumn)
Location: Dobroyd Head Track, Balgowlah, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’33.2″S 151°16’14.1″E
Posted on 2023/03/20, in Birds, Honeyeater, Wattlebird and tagged australia, birds, birdwatching, Honeyeater, Little Wattlebird, Sydney birds, Wattlebird. Bookmark the permalink. 3 Comments.
Sydney Birder 
Great photos, and I can see the similarities with the red wattlebirds that we have in the upper Blue Mountains.
Thanks for dropping by, jml297! I paid a reciprocal visit to your blog, and enjoyed reading some of the posts and seeing your lovely photos too. We have the Red Wattlebirds down here too. When I first saw a wattlebird, I wondered if they got their name from wattle trees. When I saw the wattle on the Red Wattlebird, I knew the answer. 😀
Thanks, Sarah. And isn’t that a joy of getting to know birds – working out which bird they are and why they are called a certain name! I thought the same about wattle birds, as they seemed to be so aggressive in extracting nectar from grevilleas and the like. They’re interesting birds with their husky calls and bossy manner!