Breeding Success and Nest Site Selection of the Regent Honeyeater Xanthomyza phrygia near Armidale, New South Wales

Abstract

The breeding success and nest site selection of the endangered Regent Honeyeater Xanthomyza phrygia were studied in the Bundarra–Barraba region west of Armidale, New South Wales, between 1993 and 1997. Regent Honeyeaters nested in box–ironbark woodland in all years except 1994 when no nests were found, and also in riparian gallery forest in 1995. Fifty-one Regent Honeyeater nests were built at a mean height of 13.4 m, mainly in trees with rough bark and that averaged 18.6 m in height. Forty-one nests (80%) occurred in aggregations of between two and 11 nests. The estimated population of Regent Honeyeaters in the Bundarra–Barraba region was 51, 101 and 64 in 1993, 1995 and 1996 respectively; these figures are higher than previous estimates. The Mayfield breeding success was 38.3%, which is relatively high compared to other common Australian honeyeaters. It appears that factors other than poor reproductive success are responsible for the current low population level of Regent Honeyeaters in the Bundarra–Barraba region.