What do Little Friarbirds look like?
Little Friarbirds are grey and grey-brown in colour with a blue tinge, and have a blue-grey face. They also have a downward-curving bill, which helps them in their nectar collecting, as does their specialised brush-like tongue.
These Friarbirds can be distinguished from other birds as they don’t have the bump on their beak (called a ‘casque’) that Noisy, Helmeted or Silver-crowned Friarbirds do.
Where are Little Friarbirds found?
Little Friarbirds live from north Western Australia, across the north of the country, and down the south east all the way to Victoria and South Australia.
Fast facts:
- Listen out for the Little Friarbird making its distinctive call: ‘Ar-Cooo, Rockety Crook-Shank!’
- These birds rarely come to the ground, as they mostly stay up in the trees where they are safer from predators. So you just might hear a Little Friarbird before you spot it.
Little Friarbird
Little Friarbirds live from north Western Australia, across the north of the country, and down the south east all the way to Victoria and South Australia.
These Friarbirds can be distinguished from other birds as they don’t have the bump on their beak (called a ‘casque’) that Noisy, Helmeted or Silver-crowned Friarbirds do.
Listen out for the Little Friarbird making its distinctive call: ‘Ar-Cooo, Rockety Crook-Shank!’
These birds rarely come to the ground, as they mostly stay up in the trees where they are safer from predators. So you just might hear a Little Friarbird before you spot it.
The Little Friarbird loves the nectar from Australian flowering plants, and is an important pollinator for many natives.
The Little Friarbird loves to eat nectar, pollen, soft fruits, seeds, and insects. They are a great buddy to have in your backyard because they will help pollinate your flowers and control your insect numbers at the same time.
Little Friarbirds are grey and grey-brown in colour with a blue tinge, and have a blue-grey face. They also have a downward-curving bill, which helps them in their nectar collecting, as does their specialised brush-like tongue.
You can help look after Little Friarbirds in your yard
Little Friarbirds love to stay high up in the trees and amongst dense shrubs. Plant some local natives in your garden at varying heights and densities to provide a habitat and food source for native birds like the Little Friarbird.
Little Friarbirds love to be near water, and will happily drink from and play in backyard bird baths or sprinklers. Make sure you plant some dense shrubs near any water in your garden so that birds have somewhere to hide if a cat comes investigating.
Simple things that you do can make a huge difference to Australia’s animals. That’s why the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife is running Backyard Buddies— to give you tips to help.
What is a backyard buddy?
Backyard buddies are the native animals that share our built up areas, our beaches and waterways, our backyards and our parks. The Little Friarbird is a backyard buddy.
Backyard buddies are also the local people who value the living things around them, like the Little Friarbird, and are willing to protect and encourage them by doing a few simple things around their own homes.
So you can be a backyard buddy.
Be a backyard buddy
It’s easy. All you have to do is care…and take a few simple steps.
Step one is to find out what Little Friarbirds do and do not like.
Little Friarbirds love:
Native flowers – such as those from Grevilleas, Banksias, Eucalypts, Melaleucas and other native trees.
Water – from bird baths, sprinklers and waterways, which they rarely stray far from.
Nectar & pollen – which they extract from flowers with their brush-tipped tongue, flicked rapidly and repeatedly into a flower.
Creepy crawlies – which they feed to their chicks in the nest.
But they don’t like:
Eastern Koels – which toss Little Friarbird eggs right out of the nest and lay their own eggs there, to be incubated and raised by an unsuspecting pair of Little Friarbirds.
Space invaders – such as Magpies that come too close when they have chicks in the nest. Little Friarbirds chase them away.
Be a buddy to the Little Friarbird
Try to:
- plant natives in your garden such as Eucalyptus, Banksia, Grevillea and Melaleuca.
- provide water for birds in your garden – a sprinkler, bird bath or even a small container of clean water or rainwater.
- establish plants of different heights and densities in your garden so that it becomes a habitat for many different kinds of birds.
Avoid:
- letting cats or dogs get too close to Little Friarbirds or their nests.
- using pesticides or chemicals in your garden that could poison insects that Little Friarbirds eat and feed to their chicks in the nest.
Don’t be surprised if Little Friarbirds:
- Chase away much bigger birds from their watering places or nests.
- Build a cup-shaped nest of shredded bark, dry grass, cobwebs, silky cocoons and occasionally hair.
- Are very noisy and playful.
- Feed in mixed flocks with other birds (sometimes they can be social)
