Western Spinebill

Taxobox
name = Western Spinebill
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1


image_caption = "The Western Spinebill" by E. E. Gostellow
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Meliphagidae
genus = "Acanthorhynchus"
species = "A. superciliosus"
binomial = "Acanthorhynchus superciliosus"
binomial_authority = Gould, 1837

The Western Spinebill, "Acanthorhynchus superciliosus", is a honeyeater found in the heath and woodland of south-western Western Australia. It is around fourteen centimetres (5.5 in) long, and weighs around ten grams (0.35 oz). It has a black head, gray back and wings, with a red band behind its neck and from its throat to its breast. There are white banks behind its bill and its eyes. It has a long slender curved bill.

Its contact call is a rapid high-pitched whistle, but when feeding it has a quieter whistle.

Like other honeyeaters, the Western Spinebill feeds on nectar. It tends to obtain its nectar from lower shrubs than most other honeyeaters, including "Banksia", "Dryandra", "Grevillea", "Adenanthos" and "Verticordia". [cite book |last=George (Berndt) |first=Elizabeth A. |authorlink= |coauthors= Margaret Pieroni (illustrations) |editor= |others= |title= Verticordia: the turner of hearts|edition= |series= |date= |year=2002 |month= |publisher=University of Western Australia Press |location=Crawley |language= |isbn=1 876 268 46 8 |pages=17 |chapter= |chapterurl= |quote= In WA ... Western Spinebill ("Acanthorhynchus superciliosus") [has] been recorded visiting cultivated plants ["Verticordia grandis"] ] It also feeds from trees of "Banksia" and "Eucalyptus", and from herbs such as "Anigozanthos". In addition to nectar, it feeds on insects that it captures in the air or on plants.

It breeds from September to January, in a nest made from bark, plant stems, down and spider web. It lays one or two eggs per season, and usually the female incubes them.

References