page_title: Red wattlebird
section_title: Distribution and habitat
hierarchical_section_title: Red wattlebird / Distribution and habitat
caption_attribution_description: Red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) feeding off Grey Box (Eucalyptus microcarpa) flowers at TAFE NSW - Riverina Institute.
context_page_description: The red wattlebird is a passerine bird native to southern Australia. At 33–37 cm in length, it is the second largest species of Australian honeyeater. It has mainly grey-brown plumage, with red eyes, distinctive pinkish-red wattles on either side of the neck, white streaks on the chest and a large bright yellow patch on the lower belly. The sexes are similar in plumage. Juveniles have less prominent wattles and browner eyes. John White described the red wattlebird in 1790. Three subspecies are recognized.
  The species is found in southeast Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and southwest Western Australia in open forest and woodlands, and is a common visitor to urban gardens and parks. Loud and conspicuous, the red wattlebird is generally found in trees, where it gets most of its food; occasionally it forages on the ground. It is one of the largest nectarivorous birds in the world, feeding from a wide variety of flowering plants. Insects also comprise part of its diet. It is territorial and at times aggressive towards birds of other species, often defending rich sources of nectar.
context_section_description: The red wattlebird is found in southeast Queensland, where it occurs south of Noosa and Cooloola, becoming more common south of Brisbane and Toowoomba. Further south into New South Wales it is found most places east of (and including) the Great Dividing Range and stretching west to the southern North-West Plain, Central Western Slopes and eastern Riverina, and is an occasional visitor to points along the Murray River valley. It is found across Victoria, though is uncommon in the northwest of the state. In South Australia, Devonborough Downs Station, Manunda, Wilpena Pound and Nullarbor Station mark the northern limits of its range. There are scattered records from the Nullarbor Plain, but the species is common in Western Australia west of  125 °E and south of 29 °S. The yellow wattlebird replaces it in Tasmania. The red wattlebird has become more common in some localities, such as the Sunraysia district in the 1960s, and Nambucca Heads and Lefevre Peninsula in the 1980s. Breeding numbers have increased in Sydney and Adelaide. The red wattlebird is a rare vagrant to New Zealand, with confirmed records at Matakana in 1865 and Rohutu, Taranaki, in 1885, and a third unconfirmed report from Motupiko in 1938.
  The red wattlebird appears to be a permanent resident in much of its range, though its movements are poorly known. It appears to be partly migratory in Western Australia and the north coast of New South Wales. In southeastern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory, it appears to move to lower altitudes for winter. For instance, birds vacate the Brindabella Range over the cooler months. Overall, little pattern is discernible in the species' movements, though red wattlebirds appear to move to feed on populations of flowering banksias and eucalypts, such as winter-flowering banksias in Perth over the cooler months. Large numbers arrive in  time to feed on flowering native apples (Angophora) in Mudgee and Cobbora districts in central-western New South Wales, and on white box (Eucalyptus albens) at Barrington in central-northern New South Wales. A mainly resident population on the Swan Coastal Plain near Perth is supplemented during winter by more arriving from inland areas. South of Perth, red wattlebirds are more locally nomadic, moving to new patches of blooming wildflowers. East of Perth in areas around Kellerberin, Kwolyin, and Nangeenan, the red wattlebird is present from late autumn to spring, breeding in August and September. Around Lake Grace, the red wattlebird is present year-round.
  Open sclerophyll forest and woodland, generally dominated by eucalypts, is the most common habitat of the species. It is more common in forests with ample shrubby or grassy understory. It is less commonly encountered in shrubland, heath, or margins of wet sclerophyll forest. It is rarely found in mature pine plantations. Within urban areas, it is abundant in parks and reserves, gardens and golf courses, as well as orchards and vineyards. It occasionally ventures into subtropical, semi-arid or subalpine regions, and has been found up to 1,900 m (6,000 ft) above sea level. The red wattlebird is rarer in forests that have been affected by dieback (infection by the pathogen Phytophthora cinnamomi).
caption: adult feeding on grey box (Eucalyptus microcarpa)
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