Manorina melanophrys
Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The bell miner or bellbird (Manorina melanophrys) is a colonial honeyeater, endemic to southeastern Australia. The common name refers to their bell-like call. "Miner" is an old alternative spelling of "myna", and is shared with other members of the genus Manorina. The birds feed almost exclusively on the dome-like coverings, referred to as lerps, of certain psyllid bugs.
Bell miners live in large, complex, social groups. Within each group, there are subgroups consisting of several breeding pairs, but also including a number of birds that are not currently breeding. The nonbreeders help in providing food for the young in all the nests within the subgroup, even though they are not necessarily closely related to them. The birds defend their colony area communally and aggressively, excluding most other passerine species. They do this in order to protect their territory from other insect-eating birds that would eat the bell lerps on which they feed. Whenever the local forests die back, due to increased lerp psyllid infestations, bell miners undergo a population boom.
The heritage listed mountain village of Bellbrook was named after the distinctive sound of local bellbirds in 1882. ��2�... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bell Miner sighting in Sydney on a given day, based on 617 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 95th most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Bell Miner in Sydney on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between noon and 3 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Bell Miner sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 2
Of the 2 cities where we can rate Bell Miner sightings, Sydney ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Melbourne (Australia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Bell Miner is recorded against all the birds logged in Sydney (617 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
