Red Wattlebird
Anthochaera carunculata
Family: Meliphagidae (Honeyeaters, 74 species in Australia)
Size: 31-39 cm
Distribution: Within several hundred km of the coast of NSW, VIC, the very southernmost lower eastern QLD and Eastern SA, southern WA
Status: Common
Habitat: Forests, woods, suburbs
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest
The Red is common in parts of Sydney and many other areas. It is found in the Blue Mountains and is extremely common in the Upper Blue Mountains. It looks a lot like Little Wattlebird, but it has a red flap of skin under its eye (the "wattle"), and it is a lighter grey colour and looks less "spotted". Its underside has yellow colouring on it.
It has a very distinctive call, a bit like an old wooden cuckoo-clock (it imitates the ticking of the clock and also the cuckoo sound), which sometimes can go on for hours at a time.
Photo: Mick Stephenson, VIC. High Resolution (1750 x 1207).
Photo: Brett Donald.
Photo: Peripitus, SA. High Resolution 1492 x 1776).
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.
Some Birdwatching Resources
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Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Nicolas Day, Ken Simpson, Peter Trusler. I think this is the best bird field guide for Australia. It is known to birdwatchers as "Simpson and Day". I also like the pictures in this one the best out
of all the major field guides. The information is still very highly regarded compared to most of the other guides. Many serious birdwatchers think "Pizzey
and Knight" is
the best though. I bought this one since I liked the pictures so
much I figured (correctly) that I would spend more time looking through it. I feel that I made the right choice since I love the pictures in this one so much. I have the 6th edition, the current one is the 8th.
Click here to purchase from Australia $45.49 AUD |
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Attracting Birds to Your Garden, John Dengate. Now available in paperback, this is a practical guide to encouraging birds to inhabit your garden and to enjoying the results. Well-known radio and TV personality, John Dengate covers subjects such as planning and planting a garden to suit birds; natural versus artificial feeding; creating a garden wetland; and much more.
Click here to purchase from Australia $31.49 AUD |
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Website by  Webworks® 2005-2012. This page was last modified on the 7th of November, 2011.
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