Black-eared Miner
From SongbirdReMixWiki
(Difference between revisions)
[[image: be-miner.jpg]] | [[image: be-miner.jpg]] | ||
| - | '''Common Name:''' Black-eared Miner | + | '''Common Name:''' Black-eared Miner<br> |
| - | + | ||
'''Scientific Name:''' Manorina melanotis | '''Scientific Name:''' Manorina melanotis | ||
'''Size:''' 9-10 ¼ inches (23-26 cm) | '''Size:''' 9-10 ¼ inches (23-26 cm) | ||
| - | '''Habitat:''' Australia | + | '''Habitat:''' Australia; Murray Mallee region of South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales. It requires large blocks of long, unburnt and uncleared (older than 50 years), 5-8 meter tall mallee type forest, with an understory of small bushes, shrubs and chenopods. Its distribution in Victoria is positively correlated with stable dune fields with a relatively high loam level, amount of decorticating bark (from which it obtains much of its insect food), tree density, stem density, canopy cover and litter cover. |
| + | |||
| + | '''Status:''' Endangered. Global Population: 250 to 999 with a decreasing trend. This species has a very small population; numbers have declined and several locations have been lost. If present intensive conservation efforts are unable to stop the extirpation of the tiny sub-populations, then the species will be uplisted to Critically Endangered. However, if the early success of conservation actions is confirmed, the status of the species may improve. The fundamental reason for its decline is the clearance of the majority of favorable habitat. Although European settlers reached the Murray Mallee region in 1860s, it was not until the early 20th century that widespread clearing for cropping and pasture began, and in the 1930s pastoralists dug dams and drains and cleared vegetation to increase water flow. This has resulted in displacement of ''M. melanotis'' in habitat remnants by ''M. flavigula'', and interbreeding between the two species is now the greatest threat to ''M. melanotis''. | ||
| - | + | In reaction to the species's very low numbers in the mid-1990s, a colony of seven males and two females was taken into captivity in order to establish a captive breeding colony. Management actions completed or underway include genetic studies, regular surveys and monitoring, the study of habitat preference in Victoria, the purchase of leases within Bookmark BR, the adoption of a policy of rapid fire suppression within mallee in Victoria and South Australia, research into reproductive biology and ecology, establishment of a captive population, colony translocations, generation of community support and the establishment of a recovery team1. The threat of ''M. flavigula'' is tackled by the closure and revegetation of dams, and strategic removal of colonies. | |
'''Diet:''' Invertebrates and lerp. | '''Diet:''' Invertebrates and lerp. | ||
Like other Miners, the Black-eared is social and nest and roosts in small colonies. | Like other Miners, the Black-eared is social and nest and roosts in small colonies. | ||
| - | '''Found in [http://www.daz3d.com/shop/songbird-remix-threatened-endangered-extinct2 More Threatened Endangered Extinct] and [http://www.daz3d.com/ | + | '''Found in [http://www.daz3d.com/shop/songbird-remix-threatened-endangered-extinct2 More Threatened Endangered Extinct] and [http://www.daz3d.com/shop/songbird-remix-australia-volume-iii Songbird ReMix Australia Volume III]''' |
