• National Parks and Wildlife Foundation
  • National Parks and Wildlife Foundation
  • National Parks and Wildlife Foundation
  • National Parks and Wildlife Foundation
  • National Parks and Wildlife Foundation

Backyard Buddies: Merry Mistletoe Birds

02 Dec 2010

100x100mistletoebirdWhat’s Black and White and Red all over?

It’s time to decorate for Christmas but one resident isn’t putting up lights or Santa’s with reindeer. Instead the Mistletoe Bird is decking the halls of its nest with caterpillars and cobwebs.

Mistletoe Birds breed from October through to March, so a little cobweb and leaf nest could be suspended up to 13 metres in trees. If you’ve seen Mistletoe in your neighbourhood, chances are you might also spot the small but dazzling Mistletoe Bird darting rapidly from tree to tree.

The Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife’s Backyard Buddies program is all about getting more enjoyment from native animals in your backyard. It provides tips and advice on how to make your backyard a haven for the tiny but beautiful Mistletoe Bird.

“The Mistletoe Bird’s nest is an architectural daydream,” explains Ms Leonie Gale, CEO of the Foundation for National Parks & Wildlife. “It’s shaped like a pear and made out of soft twigs, leaves, grasses (and caterpillars) matted together with delicate gossamer cobwebs.”

Mistletoe Birds are found wherever their namesake, the native Mistletoe, grows. Mistletoe, a parasitic plant which many consider a pest, is not just their favourite food. Many other native animals love to eat it too. Possums, koalas, lorikeets, cockatoos, emus and even cattle and sheep all munch on the leaves, flowers or fruit of the mistletoe.

“The Australian variety of mistletoe isn’t just for kissing under. Mistletoe is a lifesaver for many animals as it often continues to flower in drought or during winter, when few other blossoms are available. It provides nutritious nectar and pollen even when times are tough.” said Ms Gale. “Mistletoe Bird numbers are secure around Australia, but individuals can be in trouble if their favourite food is removed.”

Mistletoe will usually only kill a host tree if the tree is already sick and dying, as it’s not in the interest of the plant to kill its source of nutrients.

So what can you do to be a Backyard Buddy to our beautiful Mistletoe Birds?

  • Keep a watchful eye on your dog or cat if you know Mistletoe Birds are nearby.
  • Prevent the removal of Mistletoe from trees as this is the birds’ primary source of food, and a great source of food for many other native animals.
  • If you are worried about the health of a host tree, you’re better off putting nesting boxes around to encourage natural animal predators of the Mistletoe, such as possums and gliders. This will help bring your local ecosystem back into balance, without driving native animals away.
  • If you can’t spot a Mistletoe Bird in your backyard, try taking a walk through a eucalypt forest, a rainforests, acacia scrublands or even a mangrove swamp and you may spot one.

Fast Facts about Mistletoe Birds

  • Mistletoe Birds weigh on average 9 grams. That’s the same weight as a $1 coin.
  • If the Mistletoe Bird is feeling keen this year, he might also decorate his house with wattle blossom and lichen.
  • They are erratic fliers that feed on Mistletoe fruit high up in the canopy and don’t settle anywhere for very long, making this little decorator tough to spot!
  • Mistletoe Birds are a tiny 9-11cm in length.
  • You’ll know a male Mistletoe Bird by his bright scarlet throat and undertail. His upperparts are blue-black and his tummy is white with a distinctive black stripe down the middle
  • The Female isn’t as bright but is still lovely. She is mostly ash-brown with cream underparts. Under her tail is a discrete patch of light scarlet.
  • Mistletoe Birds are the main distributor of the Mistletoe’s sticky seeds—which can pass through their bodies in as quickly as four minutes before being discretely wiped on to tree branches. Within days a tendril will emerge from the seed that will burrow through the bark until it hits the water and minerals that nourish the tree.
  • Mistletoe is a lifesaver for many animals as it often continues to flower in drought or during winter, when few other blossoms are available. It provides nutritious nectar and pollen even when times are tough.
  • Mistletoe will usually only kill a host tree if the tree is already sick and dying, as it’s not in the interest of the plant to kill its source of nutrients.

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