Yellow Thornbill
Acanthiza nana
Also known as: Little Thornbill
About This Species
Look for small, active flocks working through eucalypt foliage and shrubby understorey, often hanging upside down as they pick insects and lerps from leaf clusters. A thin, high-pitched contact call usually gives the flock away before you spot it. Mixed-species foraging flocks in open woodland and scrub are most productive outside the breeding season, especially in the cooler months when foliage is less dense.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Stay well back and let the flock move through naturally rather than following it into dense cover; a few metres' distance with binoculars is enough to watch feeding behaviour without disturbing it.
- Native bird species and their nests are protected under wildlife law in Australia, so nests should not be approached or handled.
- If a flock scatters or gives alarm calls, retreat rather than pressing closer.
LCAvesPasseriformesAcanthizidae
Seasonal Activity
203,747 sightings · 2000–2026
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Acanthizidae
Photo
Wikimedia Commons / Wikimedia Commons
CC-BY-SA-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.