Noisy Miner (Manorina melanocephala) Yellow-throated miner (M. flaviguia)

What do they look like? Medium sized, nondescript, grey birds about 20 cm in length. Pale underneath with yellow-green f light feathers, easily overlooked. Noisy Miners have a dark hood that extends over the top of the head and grey rump. Yellow-throated Miners have little yellow on the throat, and a mask rather than a hood. When flying away, a pale, whitish rump is obvious.

Where do they live? These miners occur throughout the whole region and they can live in all woodland types. Noisy Miners tend to be more coastal and suburban, whereas Yellow-throated Miners occur in the west. Most habitats are used, but they are usually uncommon except in modified environments and open woodlands.

What do they need to live, eat and breed? Miners are honeyeaters and spend much time visiting flowers, especially eucalypts. They forage at all levels of the woodland (or suburban garden) for insects, nectar from flowers and small fruits. They tend to nest towards the ends of fairly low branches in smaller trees and shrubs.

When might I see (or hear) them? Generally heard before being seen, they form active, noisy and aggressive groups. Most often heard in the early morning, especially around homesteads with planted trees.

What management actions affect this species? These miners are ‘disturbance increasers’, uncommon in woodland habitats but common around house yards, cleared, thinned or parkland type environments. Miners are considered “hyper-aggressive”- they form large, aggressive groups and visually patrol their patch of bush, defending the area from other birds entering. Maintaining larger areas of diverse woody vegetation, avoiding clearing or thinning, and maintaining a mosaic of differing fire histories helps to balance miner populations.

How do they benefit the land I manage? Once miners establish, they can severely reduce the diversity of other insect eating birds. The presence of miners has been clearly linked to poor woodland health. The reduced number of other more specialised insect eating birds means insect populations can increase unchecked, resulting in increased pest insect attack on trees, shrubs and grasses.