Bell Ringers of the Royal Gardens

On the weekend a mate and I headed to the Royal Botanic Gardens of Melbourne. A Powerful Owl had been reported and we were keen to find it. While we wandered about we also walked through the Bell Miner Colony. The Bell Miner also called a Bellbird is a small honeyeater that lives in large social groups. They are very aggressive to other birds and will defend their food source which is “bell lerp”, a sugary secretion of a small insect that feeds on gum leaves. The bird has a very distinctive call, a bell chime or ping. The ping is a territorial call and extremely loud when ones chimes next to your ear. The red marking of the eye indicates a mature adult. The gardens are one of the few locations that the species can be easily seen. They are small, olive green and usually stay high in the trees. The birds at Botanic Gardens seem to be used to people and come down quite low and with a bit of time can be photographed (and recorded).

Play to hear the colony sound from the Gardens.

Bell Miner, Melbourne Botanic Gardens

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“ping”

Juvenile Bell Miner