HoneyeatersBlue-faced Honeyeater Brown Honeyeater Brown-headed Honeyeater Crescent Honeyeater Eastern Spinebill Grey-fronted Honeyeater Grey-headed Honeyeater New Holland Honeyeater Noisy Miner Pied Honeyeater Red Wattlebird Scarlet Honeyeater Singing Honeyeater Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater White-plumed Honeyeater Yellow-throated Miner Yellow-tinted Honeyeater Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
The Yellow-throated Miner (Manorina flavigula) is endemic to Australia. With its distinctive white rump, that distinguishes it from other miner species, they are also known as the White-rumped Miner.
A medium-sized, grey passerines, with yellow throat markings and bare yellow patch around the eye, the Yellow-throated Miner is grey above from the crown to the tail. They have a pale grey below and a light brown scalloping on the breast. The beak varies from an orange to yellow, with the legs and feet also variable from a pink-orange to yellow. The wings and tail edges are washed yellow, whilst the tail tips are white.
The most widespread of Australia’s miners, the species is noisy and sociable, and may be aggressive towards other birds.
They are found in a wide range of habitats where there are trees, including dry forests and woodlands. They are also seen in urban parks, gardens and farmlands. Although they are honeyeaters, the main component of their diet is insects and other invertebrates. They can often be seen probing beneath loose bark and foraging among foliage in trees and on the ground. They also eat small fruits and nectar.
The Yellow-faced Miner are communal in their breeding habit and breeding pairs are often assisted by other members of the group in feeding the young. Their nests are deep, cup-shaped and built in a tree fork, from 3 to 6 metres above the ground. They are constructed from twigs and grasses, maybe lined with fur, wool and feathers.
Common name
Also known as the White-rumped Miner. The common name ‘miner’ is a play on the spelling myna, mynah or minah, that is commonly used with other members of the genus Manorina. Whilst the Yellow-throated Miner were were originally named due to their resemblance to the common Myna of India, the common mynas are from the starling family and are not closely related to the honeyeater family.
- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Passeriformes
- Family: Meliphagidae
- Genus: Manorina
- Species: M. flavigula
- Binomial name: Manorina flavigula
Footnote & References
- Yellow-throated Miner, Australian Museum, https://australian.museum/learn/animals/birds/yellow-throated-miner/
- Yellow-throated Miner, BirdLife Australia, https://birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/yellow-throated-miner
- Yellow-throated miner, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow-throated_miner (last visited Aug. 8, 2021).
HoneyeatersBlue-faced Honeyeater Brown Honeyeater Brown-headed Honeyeater Crescent Honeyeater Eastern Spinebill Grey-fronted Honeyeater Grey-headed Honeyeater New Holland Honeyeater Noisy Miner Pied Honeyeater Red Wattlebird Scarlet Honeyeater Singing Honeyeater Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater White-plumed Honeyeater Yellow-throated Miner Yellow-tinted Honeyeater Yellow-tufted Honeyeater