Bird of the month: Eastern Spinebill
Posted on 23 April, 2020 by Ivan
Welcome to our third Bird of the month, a partnership between Connecting Country and BirdLife Castlemaine District. Each month we’re taking a close look at one special local bird species. We’re excited to be joining forces to deliver you a different bird each month, seasonally adjusted, and welcome any suggestions from the community. We are lucky enough to have the talented and charismatic Jane Rusden from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing about our next bird of the month, with assistance from the brilliant Damian Kelly. You may be familiar with the third bird off the ranks.
Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris)
This month has seen the return of the Eastern Spinebill to Central Victoria, as they leave higher elevations for the winter. I’ve noticed them feeding on Rock Correa around my house and Geoff Park wrote about their return on his blog, of course, accompanied by his stunning photos. This is a species that has adapted to gardens and will utilise non-native species of flowering plants, such as Salvia, in their search for nectar. Did I mention Correa, they LOVE Correa.
The Eastern Spinebill, though a Honeyeater, is arguably our local answer to the humming bird, as they have a habit of hovering whilst using their long curved bills to probe flowers. This ability means they can feed on nectar plants too delicate for birds to actually land on. In addition, they eat plants and a large assortment of insects. If you’ve read Tim Lowe’s book ‘Where Song Began’, you’ll know birds use nectar for energy, but its’ relatively low nutrient levels mean birds look to insects for minerals and other nutrients.
Pineapple Sage is a favourite of the Eastern Spinebill (photo by Damian Kelly)
So here’s an interesting thing: through our research on this gorgeous little honeyeater, Damian Kelly and I noticed an anomaly that we can’t get to the bottom of. The guide books say that during the summer Eastern Spinebills retreat from low elevations to higher elevations and can be found in places like the High Country. However, around mid elevations such as Cottles Bridge (north east of Melbourne VIC), they can be found all year round. Young birds are known to travel larger distances and usually appear locally before the mature adults do. However, an extensive long-term study across most of their range (from South Australia, through Victoria to New South Wales) from 1984 to 1999 involved mist netting and banding 39,572 Eastern Spinebills with a re-capture of 3,602 birds. The study discovered that 99% of re-captured birds were less than 10 km from their original banding location. In short, they had moved very little distance at all, but the same cannot be said for our local birds. It would be fascinating to know what’s going on here.
Perhaps this is a highly adaptable bird? It will nest under verandahs and utilise non-native food sources such as fuschia, move if it has to, or not if it doesn’t. For a small bird they are reasonably long lived. In the study mentioned above, one individual was banded as an adult, then caught six more times during the study period, which means it was an adult for at least 13 years and 2 months.
I suspect there’s much going on with the Eastern Spinebill, much more than feeding on their favourite Correa and being chased across the garden by other honeyeaters, which is how we often see them. Anyone up for a PhD on Eastern Spinebills …?
To listen to the varied and lovely calls of the Eastern Spinebill, and see a map of its distribution, please – click here
The eastern spinebill is a species of honeyeater found in south-eastern Australia in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban and rural areas (photo by Damian Kelly)
Written by Jane Rusden
Research by Damian Kelly and Jane Rusden
Photos by Damian Kelly
Each year from early winter to spring, one or two eastern spinebills visit the callistemon and abutilon in my small Toorak Victoria garden several times a day. They coexist happily with the local visiting silver-eyes, but the red wattlebirds sometimes give them short shrift. The spinebills are still here at the moment in mid-August, their distinctive high-pitched call frequently announcing their presence. I often see and hear eastern spinebills at nearby Como Gardens too. I’m not sure where or when they move on, but I don’t seem to see or hear them over summer.
I have just seen one feeding on Correa and Grevillea in our yard in Winchelsea Victoria
There’s an Eastern Spinebill in a flowering Grevillea in my front garden Rutherglen NE Victoria at 29th July 11.18am. Saw him here days ago but a Wattke bird chased him away. First time I’ve ever seen one ?
Just saw one feeding on my backyard Salvias (Hobart) and had to b go away and ID it! Planted salvia for bees, loving that these birds will come too.
wonderful, thanks for sharing
Amazing little birds. We’ve had one in our garden the last two weeks in Ballarat, feeding on the correa reflexa (so glad we planted it!), and it was joined by another today 🙂 Hoping they stay to nest, we’ll see. A delightful call to wake up to in the morning.
Had Eastern Spinebill on my Salvia in my backyard at Parafield Gardens, South Australia 5107 on Saturday 1 June 2024.
wonderful to hear
I live in Hawthorn Melbourne. I have noticed the occasional one over the winter months but this year (In May) we have at least 4, possibly 6 around our garden, a mixture of natives and exotics. Delighted to have them flitting around.
BTW abutilons (Chinese lanterns) keep my wattlebirds and now spinebills happy in nectar throughout the whole year but especially winter.
We have at least 4 of these in our yard feeding on our Salvias! We are in Goulburn region! Delightful to watch! Coincidentally they are sharing these flowers with Blue Banded Bees!
great Elizabeth! thanks for sharing
I saw an Eastern spine bill last Week or a few weeks ago in my back yard at roughly just before dark and it was feeding on my mums salvia hot lips plant
wonderful news!! They do love those plants!
Nice article, I spotted one in my 2 year old Grevillia garden yesterday, the plants are flowering now, I was stoked to see this little guy.
Glenn at Mt. Best, Sth Gippy
excellent news!
We live in Clyde North and have this magnificent bird visiting our native trees in the back yard. It has a beautiful call
A pair in my backyard in Hawthorn East this morning.
I saw an Eastern Spinebill in Crib Point (Western Port Bay) today – 24 May 2023.
I think I heard one last night as well.
wonderful!!! thanks for letting us know
I’ve had one of these lovely birds feeding on my pineapple sage bush.
Such a beautiful delight.
Devonport, Tasmania
They are a delight. Great to have your observation all the way from Tas!
I have had one visiting my Toorak Vic garden for over a month. Twice I have seen a pair together. They have been feeding on a small orange abutilon and fuchsias as well as the callistemon when it’s had flowers. I hope they will be here in winter but perhaps they will move on to other food sources. I saw a young red wattlebird shoo it away once but it was back soon after.
Great to hear Hilary, your garden sounds like a birds delight, keep up the good work
Blog .Hello . I am so worried . Here in Mogo . NSW 2536
there is not l small bird including Eastern Spinebill for months a no bees . I have Normally heaps of both . We were devastated by the fires but still had birds and bees in 2020 . Now none . Devastated . Any suggestions
Very good question, it is a bit far away from us to have an answer!
For the past couple of months i’ve had a pair visiting my correa outside my kitchen window…what a beauty. I am at Upper Lurg northeast vic. Thanks for this blog.
Marg McGuigan
thanks Marg, great to hear
Beautiful piece, Jane & Damian.
Thanks John, they are very talented and passionate.
Lovely story! I agree that they seem to winter in southern Victoria and can be found year round….thank goodness! They are such a fascinating bird.
Thanks Sue, they are a good friend in the garden