Xanthomyza phrygia — Details

Regent Honeyeater learn more about names for this taxon

Overview

Distribution

Range

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SE Queensland to s and central Victoria; se South Australia.
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Range Description

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Xanthomyza phrygia is endemic to south-east Australia. Most sightings come from a few sites in north-eastern Victoria, along the western slopes of the Great Dividing Range, New South Wales, and the central coast of New South Wales. Birds are regularly reported in small numbers in the Australian Capital Territory and far south-east Queensland. It has become extinct in South Australia and has declined to vagrant status in central and western Victoria, and Gippsland. Birds concentrate at a small number of sites when breeding, but numbers fluctuate greatly between years and sites. Movements outside the breeding season are poorly understood. At two sites in 1997, there were an estimated maximum of 1,000 birds but, in 1998, far fewer birds were seen and no breeding was observed.
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Ecology

Habitat

Habitat and Ecology

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Habitat and Ecology
It is usually observed within box-ironbark eucalypt associations, seeming to prefer wetter, more fertile lowland sites. It also uses riparian forests of river she-oak Casuarina cunninghamiana in New South Wales, especially for breeding. The other major environment used regularly is wet lowland coastal forests dominated by Swamp Mahogany Eucalyptus robusta or Spotted Gum Corymbia maculata. It requires a diet of nectar, principally from a few key species such as Yellow Box E. melliodora, White Box E. albens and Mugga Ironbark E. sideroxylon, as well as insects, particularly when breeding1,2. It also feeds on sugary exudates. In poor years, it is not clear whether birds fail to nest or shift elsewhere to breed.

Systems
  • Terrestrial
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Conservation

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List Assessment

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Red List Category
EN
Endangered

Red List Criteria
C2a(ii)

Version
3.1

Year Assessed
2008

Assessor/s
BirdLife International

Reviewer/s
Taylor, J., Butchart, S., Dutson, G., Garnett, S.

Contributor/s
Tzaros, C.

Justification
The species is classified as Endangered because it probably has a very small, highly mobile population, although the movements and population dynamics of this species are poorly known. Range and abundance fluctuate greatly but have declined markedly, and this is believed to be continuing.

History
  • 2007
    Endangered
  • 2004
    Endangered
  • 2000
    Endangered
  • 1996
    Endangered
  • 1994
    Endangered
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Population

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Population
The breeding population has been estimated at 1,500 mature individuals (Garnett and Crowley 2000).

Population Trend
Decreasing
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Threats

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Major Threats
About 75% of its habitat has been cleared for agricultural and residential development. Much of the preferred lowland habitat on the most fertile and productive sites has been cleared or substantially modified and this has resulted in poorer and unreliable nectar-sources through the reduction of large mature trees1. Remnants, including much of what currently exists in the conservation reserve system, have been heavily cut-over and degraded, and this practice is continuing in many areas, including hardwood production forests. These remnants are highly fragmented and often degraded by removal of larger trees and ongoing declines in tree health. This fragmentation has apparently advantaged more aggressive honeyeaters, particularly the Noisy Miner Manorina melanocephala, which may be excluding the species1,2.
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Management

Conservation Actions

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Conservation Actions
Conservation Actions Underway
Surveys of range and abundance are conducted annually. Detailed research has been conducted on breeding biology. Restrictions have been placed on grazing and timber extraction at some important sites. Extensive replanting of habitat trees has occurred. Captive colonies have been established. A recovery plan is being implemented.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Initiate population monitoring in the three main breeding regions. Determine trends using existing sightings database and bird atlas project, largely through assistance of community-based surveys coordinated by the Regent Honeyeater Recovery Team and the Threatened Bird Network. Determine movement patterns and degree of isolation between breeding populations. Determine impact of M. melanocephala on population stability. Conduct trials of hard release techniques. Prepare regional guidelines for habitat management. Protect all sites on public land. Conduct a public education programme. Determine and monitor habitat quality. Increase number and quality of colonies in Victoria.

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Wikipedia

Regent Honeyeater

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The Regent Honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia) is a critically endangered bird endemic to Australia. It feeds on nectar and insects within eucalyptus forests. Recent genetic research suggests it is closely related to the wattlebirds.

Contents

Taxonomy [edit]

First described by the naturalist George Shaw in 1794, the Regent Honeyeater was known as Xanthomyza phrygia for many years, the genus erected by William John Swainson in 1837. However, genetic analysis shows that its ancestry is in fact nested within the wattlebird genus Anthochaera, and hence it is correctly described as Anthochaera phrygia.

Distribution [edit]

The Regent Honeyeater was once common in wooded areas of eastern Australia, especially along the inland slopes of the Great Dividing Range. It once could be found as far west as Adelaide, but is now gone from South Australia and western Victoria. The population is now scattered, with the three main breeding areas being the Bundarra-Barraba area and Capertee Valley of New South Wales, and north-eastern Victoria.[1]

Important Bird Areas [edit]

BirdLife International has identified the following sites as being important for Regent Honeyeaters: [2]

Queensland
New South Wales
Victoria

Behaviour [edit]

The Regent Honeyeater exhibits unusual behaviour, in that particularly during winter, isolated individuals of this species associate with and then often mimic the calls of wattlebirds and friarbirds. Although many birds use vocal copying behaviour, no other bird species is known to use vocal mimicry of close relatives in this way. See Veerman, P.A. 1992 & 1994 Australian Bird Watcher.

Conservation status [edit]

The Regent Honeyeater is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List and under both Australia's Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 and Queensland's Nature Conservation Act 1992. The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010, compiled by researchers from Charles Darwin University and published in October 2011 by the CSIRO, added the Regent Honeyeater to the "Critically Endangered" list, giving habitat loss as the major threat.[3]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Menkhorst, Peter; Schedvin, Natasha; & Geering, David (1999-05-00). "Regent Honeyeater (Xanthomyza phrygia) Recovery Plan 1999-2003". Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australia. Retrieved 2011-06-08. 
  2. ^ BirdLife International. (2011). Important Bird Areas. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 2012-01-02.
  3. ^ Garnett, Stephen; Szabo, Judit and Dutson, Guy (2011). The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2010. Collingwood, Vic: CSIRO. ISBN 978-0-643-10368-9. 
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