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Noisy Miner

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Field Notes

Description:

Native noisy miner bird chick. Very young no flight feathers. No tail feathers. Primarily light grey with slightly darker head, tufts of fluff ranging from grey to brown with pale legs, yellowish beak and yellow patch around eyes. Bright yellow-orange beak interior.

Habitat:

Located huddled in the gutter on the side of a suburban road.

Notes:

I located this chick huddled in the gutter on the side of a suburban road. It was soaked and visibly shivering and upon observation of the area I couldn’t locate any nest or adults of the species. I assume it had been blown out of somewhere in the bad weather and given the conditions, it’s location and my knowledge of dogs that roam the area unsupervised I didn’t want to leave it and so as I lived nearby I have taken it in to keep it warm, fed and safe.
Thankfully I keep bearded dragons and as such have plenty of mealworms on hand which this chick seems to be happy to take. The chick once dry and warm has been preening and ‘flapping’ however is entirely incapable of flight and seems to have very limited movement ability on foot at this stage.
I intend to see if there’s anywhere that would take it in but if I don’t find a place I have prior experience raising orphaned chicks and will ensure it’s safety until it’s ready to go out on its own and has the skills to feed itself and survive.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (5)

Super spotting SB. Unfortunately 'tis the season when chicks might get evicted. Well done.
JohnB I agree with your note -- This is a wonderful spotting in part because the notes are such a compelling narrative. spider8ait1994, thank you for caring and being so knowledgeable!
Hi spider8ait1994, I looked at your spotting again, this morning, because I am not familiar with the Noisy Miner and your story is so compelling that I just wanted to read it again. When I read your description and notes yesterday evening, I didn't notice that you had not entered the scientific name. Since I did not know the name, I looked it up in https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noisy_miner... I'm sure that you know it already - Manorina melanocephala - So maybe you could spare a moment to update your spotting by including the scientific name and the Wiki reference. Then your Spotting would, in my opinion, be just perfect. I'm sure that everyone who reads your spotting will be touched by your kindness to the chick.
Hi spider8ait1994, A great Spotting and I love your notes. Thank you for saving that poor bird. I see that you are new to Project Noah and I am sure you will be officially welcomed by one of the Rangers, but can I just say that your rescue of the Miner Bird Chick has already placed you on my list of favourites.
Photographed
PublishedOctober 26, 2023

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