Anthochaera carunculata

Size: Birds Size: 31-39 cm

Family: Meliphagidae (Honeyeaters, 74 species in Australia)

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

About the Red Wattlebird

The Red Wattlebird 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.

Photo: Brett Donald.

Photo: Peripitus, SA.

Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Higher Resolution 682 x 1000.

See Also

Australian Mammals
Australian Reptiles
Australian Frogs
Australian Fish
Australian Spiders and Their Faces
Australian Wild Plant Foods

Return to Australian Birds