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Mistletoebird (female)
Dicaeum hirundinaceum hirundinaceum
-16.8, 122.66
Field Notes
Description:
This beautiful little female is a grey-white colour from under her throat all the way to the red patch under the tail. She has a grey head which extends all the way down her back. "Unlike many other birds, the mistletoebird has no gizzard - a specialised pouch behind its stomach - to grind its food, which means the fruit of the berries can be digested without the seeds inside being destroyed." (Australian Geographic) They are the only member of the flowerpecker family in Australia.
Habitat:
Checking out things below her from amongst the leaves above the bird bath. Plenty of company from Zebra Finches (Taeniopygia guttata castanotis), Long-tailed Finches (Poephila acuticauda acuticauda), Peaceful Doves (Geopelia striata placida), a couple of Great Bowerbirds (Chlamydera nuchalis), and a bunch of other bird species in the garden at Goombaragin on the Dampier Peninsula.
Notes:
Interesting information: (https://www.anbg.gov.au/mistletoe/mistletoe-bird.html )
"Their preferred food is the berries produced by mistletoe. The seeds within these fruits pass intact through the birds’ digestive system and are excreted in sticky strands that adhere to branches, where they germinate. In this manner, mistletoe is spread from tree to tree, providing extra habitat for the species which rely on it to survive." (Birdlife Australia: https://www.birdlife.org.au/bird-profile/mistletoebird )
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