Animalia Life

Sphecotheres vieilloti
TAXONOMY
Sphecotheres vieilloti Vigors & Horsfield, 1827, Keppel Bay, Queensland, Australia. Four subspecies: two (flaviventris, ashbyi) with yellow-ventrumed males in northern Australia and the Kai Islands, differing in tone of back; one (salvadorii) with gray-, yellow-, and white-ventrumed males in southeast New Guinea, and one (vieilloti) with gray- and olive-ventrumed males in central east Australia. taxonomy controversial.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Green figbird, southern figbird; French: Sphйcothиre de Vieillot. German: Feigenpirol; Spanish: Papahigos Verde.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
10–11.5 in (25–29 cm); 4–4.5 oz (110–130 gm), both sexes. A stout, shortish-tailed figbird; upperparts olive-green, except black on head, primaries, and tail. Throat is gray with buff-red bare eye skin.
DISTRIBUTION
Coastal northern and eastern Australia (Kimberley Division to Illawarra district), southeast New Guinea, and Kai Islands (Banda Sea).
HABITAT
Rainforest edge, gallery vine forest, mangroves, and adjacent gardens.
BEHAVIOR
Communal, in noisy, loose, locally nomadic flocks of up to 30–50 in tree canopy; often perches high on bare branches and power lines to group and call: loud, single- or double-note whistles.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds in tree crowns primarily on small, soft fruit such as figs and native cherries; ink weed and tobacco bush are staple diet; bananas, guavas, and mulberries are occasionally taken in orchards.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Monogamous in small groups, holding small territories during later austral spring and summer (October–February). Nests are shallow, flimsy, and saucer-like, built of plant fiber and tendrils. Eggs usually three. Both parents share all nesting duties, and additional birds may help feed the young.
CONSERVATION STATUS
No populations are under threat anywhere, having adapted to habitats subject to disturbance and regeneration.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known, apart from occasional nuisance value to fruit growers.

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