Bell Miner - Bellbird - Bell Bird - Manorina melanophrys

Bell Miner (Bellbird)

Manorina melanophrys

Other Names: Bellbird, Bell Bird
Family: Meliphagidae (Honeyeaters, 74 species in Australia)
Size: 17-20 cm
Distribution: Within about 300 km of the coast of NSW, Eastern VIC and the most southern QLD coasts.
Status: Common
Habitat: Forests, woodlands
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest

The bell miner, or bellbird, is most well know for its chiming bell-like call. They are much more often heard than they are seen, since the call is loud and the bird looks a drab green-grey colour that blends in very well with the trees it is found in. They are very closely related to the noisy miner and not closely related to the introduced common or "Indian" myna.

The beak and feet of the bell miner are yellowish-orange with a small reddish-orange patch behind the eye.

Bell Miner - Bellbird - Bell Bird - Manorina melanophrys
Photo: Lapstone, Blue Mountains NSW.

Bell Miner - Bellbird - Bell Bird - Manorina melanophrys
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.

Some Birdwatching Resources

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight. This is the other of the two best bird field guides for Australia. It is the one preferred by many serious birdwatchers. However I find the pictures a bit dull looking for my taste — the birds all kind of look the same to me, making it harder to remember them in my mind. The illustrations are meant to be the most anatomically correct, though. The text descriptions are better than in Simpson and Day. If you want the most serious bird field guide get this one otherwise get Simpson and Day.

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase 9th ed. from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

Click here to purchase 9th ed. from Australia (The Nile)

Click here to purchase from Australia (Fishpond)

Click here to preorder the 9th ed. from Amazon

Field Guide to Australian Birds, by Michael Morcombe. This one has colour drawings of the eggs and the nests which not many other field guides do (I can't think of any that do). It's an excellent field guide and one of the four main ones (the other three being above this one). The weakness of this field guide is that some of the pictures of the birds aren't as good (or accurate) as the other three most used field guides. It's also the heaviest though there is a pocket edition which is much smaller and lighter.

Purchase from Australia (Booktopia)

Purchase from Australia (Angus & Robertson)

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