Bird of the Month: Jacky Winter
Posted on 17 February, 2025 by Anna
Jacky Winter (Microeca fascinans)
Welcome to 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 are blessed to have the brilliant Jane Rusden and Damian Kelly from BirdLife Castlemaine District writing these! We’re excited to join forces to deliver you a different bird each month, seasonally adjusted, and welcome suggestions from the community.
A pair of Jacky Winters. Photo by Damian Kelly.
The Jacky Winter is one of the “Feathered Five’ indicator species selected by Connecting Country for their detailed 10-year Woodland Birds Action Plan for the Mount Alexander region. There have been noticeable declines in this species’ with the clearing of woodland in many parts of Australia. A handy way to find them, is to look along fence lines where paddocks butt up to bushland, as they love to perch on the fence wires preening or keeping an eye out for insects to eat for lunch.
Although it is a member of the generally colourful family of robins, the Jacky Winter has a more subdued colour palette of pale grey, white and brown, which allows it to blend in to the environment. Males and females are very similar in appearance. Also both sexes can be easily confused with female Hooded Robins, but the Jacky Winter is paler on the chest, it’s bill is slightly shorter and the white stripe down the side of the tail is continuous. To add to the confusion, both species’ distributions overlap considerably. Jacky Winters prefer areas of open woodland, and can be found over large parts of Australia, as well as extending into Papua New Guinea.
In suitable habitat it can be easily observed with its typical feeding behaviour of hawking for insects using the ‘sit and pounce’ tactic typical of several different robins, where it sits on a low branch and then dives down to catch prey on the ground. They can often be seen in pairs whilst feeding. Food includes a range of insects and arachnids. Given the chance they are also known to be partial to cheese. Not unusual as I have experienced similar behaviour from a Brown Treecreeper pinching cheese from my lunch.
Jacky Winter sits on a nest. Photo by Damian Kelly.
In their breeding season they build a very small, cup-shaped nest mainly composed of twigs and bark and held together with spiders’ web. Clutch size is usually 2 eggs. Only the female incubates the eggs, but both parents feed the young. Unlike other Australian species, there is no evidence of helpers at the nest – all work is done by the breeding pair.
Long-term studies indicate that Jacky Winters are generally sedentary and remain in an area throughout the year. There is very little evidence of migration apart from some local seasonal movements. This sedentary aspect of their behaviour makes this species more vulnerable when habitat is cleared.
Jacky Winter. Photo by Jane Rusden.
Lovely little birds and something we’ve noticed is that they don’t seem to be at all timid. We can walk around our place and they often seem to tag along for 50 or so metres.
Good story. Fanciers of cheese, cheeky things! Had better keep an eye on my lunch as I often have Brown Treecreepers foraging nearby when I feed outside with my cheese. They spend the early morning and late afternoon on the eastern side of the house, and by mid-morning they are on the western side near the bird baths which they rarely seem to use. Unfortunately, I am not visited by Jacky Winters. The nearest creature being a Yellow Robin and a Jacky Lizard – not together.
Delightful photos too! These Jacky Winters are such plump healthy looking balls of fluff!