Small insect-eating birds
Rufous WhistlerPhoto: SG Lane Collection © Australian Museum
Small insect-eating (insectivorous) birds have been most affected by urbanisation in Australia. Only 15 % of all the species commonly found in cities weigh less than 15 g. This contrasts with birds in native bushland, where around 40 % weigh less than 15 g. In comparison, larger birds dominate cities, with 30 % of species in the 80 g to 200 g weight range; in bushland, less than 10 % of bird species weigh this much.
Fact sheet list
- Black-faced Monarch
- Brown Gerygone
- Brown Thornbill
- Buff-rumped Thornbill
Clamorous Reed-Warbler - Crested Shrike-tit
- Crimson Chat
- Dusky Robin
- Eastern Yellow Robin
- Flame Robin
- Forty-spotted Pardalote
- Golden Whistler
- Golden-headed Cisticola
- Grey Fantail
- Hooded Robin
- Inland Thornbill
- Jacky Winter
- Large-billed Scrubwren
- Leaden Flycatcher
- Olive Whistler
- Pale-yellow Robin
- Red-capped Robin
- Restless Flycatcher
- Rockwarbler
- Rose Robin
- Rufous Whistler
- Satin Flycatcher
- Scarlet Robin
- Southern Emu-wren
- Spectacled Monarch
- Spotted Pardalote
- Striated Pardalote
- Striated Thornbill
- Strong-billed Honeyeater
- Superb Fairy-wren
- Tasmanian Scrubwren
- Tasmanian Thornbill
- Variegated Fairy-wren
- Weebill
- White-browed Scrubwren
- White-fronted Chat
- White-throated Gerygone
- White-throated Treecreeper
- White-winged Triller
- Willie Wagtail
- Yellow Thornbill
- Yellow-rumped Thornbill
- Yellow-throated Scrubwren
Why are small birds declining in cities?
Several factors are involved in the loss of small birds from cities. The two most significant factors are:
- Small birds are always vulnerable to predation from larger species. This happens most during the breeding season because eggs and nestlings are unable to escape. Several species of large bird - notably the Pied Currawong - have become more common in cities. They are voracious nest predators and it is likely that Pied Currawongs have an impact on the small birds by limiting their ability to reproduce. Other predatory species, like ravens, butcherbirds and kookaburras, also seem to do well in cities, making life even more dangerous for small birds. One reason that the larger birds do well in cities is that they are more likely to benefit from human-created foods (petfood, garbage, foodscraps and carrion) than small birds, which mostly eat insects.
- Small birds generally can't compete with larger birds for resources. In particular, the Noisy Miner, a common inhabitant of eastern Australian cities, excludes small insectivores (insect-feeders) and nectarivores (nectar-feeders) from its territories. Noisy Miners have become more abundant and widespread in many Australian environments, and are strongly implicated in the loss of small birds from cities.