88 AUSTRALIAN FIELD ORNITHOLOGY 2005 , 22, 88-103 Nesting and Foraging by a Pair of Striped Honeyeaters at Baradine, New South Wales K.A. WOOD1 and ANDREW J. LEY2 17 Maralinga Drive, Ashmore, Queensland 4214 219 Lynches Road, Armidale, New South Wales 2350 Summary A breeding pair of Striped Honeyeaters Plectorhyncha lanceolata was observed at three nests at Baradine, northern New South Wales, for 43.3, 25 .8 and 42.5 hours overall in the nest-building, incubation and nestling phases respectively during spring 2003. The breeding home-range around one nest (nest 2) was 4.2 ha, dominated by mature White Cypress Pines Callitris glaucophylla. Both parents defended a small area within a radius of about 20m from the nest and were engaged almost equally in nest-building, incubation and feeding a single nestling. The mean rate at which both parents fed the nestling was 11.3 (range 4.3-16.7) visits/hour. The female's brooding effort was three times greater th an that of the male, but the male uttered most (88%) solo songs and performed most (if not all) territorial song-flights. Overall, there were at least twice the number of calls and displays during nest-building as during incubation or while feeding the young. Food, foraging, and use of feet, as we ll as flight and comfort behaviour, are also described. Introduction In the family Meliphagidae, the Striped Honeyeater Plectorhyncha lanceolata is a medium-sized monotypic species (length 22 em, weight 40 g) with a spear-shaped bill, a black-and-white striped head and long buffy-white lanceolated feathers on the upper breast (Schodde & Tidemann 1986; Longmore 1991). It breeds throughout its range from northern Queensland, through New South Wales to northern Victoria and eastern South Australia (Blakers et al. 1984).1ts preferred habitat is semi-arid woodlands dominated by eucalypt, casuarina or cypress pine trees (Higgins et al. 2001). Some aspects of its breeding biology are known (see Higgins et al. 2001) but it seems that only one quantitative study has been undertaken. Moffatt et al. (1983) watched a single nest with young for 7 hours over 3 days near Meandarra, Queensland, and observed cooperative feeding of nestlings. Nevertheless, Higgins et al. (2001) concluded that Striped Honeyeaters usually breed as simple pairs with both sexes building the nest, incubating the eggs and feeding the young. The only reported systematic foraging study was in south-western New South Wales in July 1993, when Franklin & Alley (1995) watched non-breeding Striped Honeyeaters as they foraged in Black Oak Casuarina pauper and mallee woodland. In 21 minutes of cumulative sampling, Franklin & Alley (1995) found that Striped Honeyeaters spent the majority of time (80.8%) feeding in the canopy (2-10 m high) of woodland trees. They suggested that arthropods, rather than nectar or lerp, were the main source of food. In order to further our knowledge of the Striped Honeyeater, we obtained sample data on a breeding pair at the showground at Baradine, NSW (30°57'S, 149°05'E), during 24 days in spring 2003. Observations were made of parent birds attending nests and foraging in the breeding home-range. The female and male were colour-banded about halfway through the study. In this paper, information is presented on some aspects of the breeding biology and foraging ecology. VOL. 22 (2) JUNE 2005 Striped Honeyeater Nesting and Foraging 89 Methods Three nesting attempts were observed (Table 1, Figure 1). The first nest was watched for 30 minutes on 11 September 2003 when it appeared to be completely built and was attended by two Striped Honeyeaters, but incubation had not commenced. Ten days later it looked dishevelled and was inactive apart from one visit by a Striped Honeyeater that collected some nest-material and carried it to a second nest 75 m away. Subsequently, nest 2 was watched for 30.5, 25.8 and 42.5 hours respectively in the nest-building, incubation and nestling phases. Given that we later determined that the first nest was located in the home-range around nest 2, it seems likely that the same pair built both nests. Three eggs were being incubated in nest 2 on 13 October but only one hatched (Table 1). The nestling was estimated to be c. 4 days old on 27 October and, since the nestling peri od is c. 17 days (Higgins et al. 2001), its projected fledging date was about 9 November (Figure 2). In the mornings of 7, 8 and 9 November, this nestling was fed by a parent but was absent at approximately 0900 h on 10 November (R. Nixon, pers. comm.). Because th e colour-banded parents, and not the juvenile, were found during 150 minutes of searching on the afternoon of 10 November (Table 1), we concluded that the young bird died on 9 or 10 November. At 1155 h on 11 November, the breeding pair was found again, carrying the nest-materials from nest 2 to a third nest. Located 440 m from nest 2, nest 3 was watched cumulatively fo r 12.3 hours on 4 days until 24 November. It was abandoned about 24 November when c. 70% constructed. Foraging Foraging data were acquired by focal-animal sampling (Altmann 1974). Parent birds were followed opportunistically during foraging bouts which lasted > 1 minute. Tree species in which the Honeyeaters foraged were recorded, as well as the time spent foraging at va ri ous heights, estimated to the nearest metre. Both parents were followed and watched until they ceased foraging or were lost from sight. The foraging method (sensu Recher eta!. 1985) and food consumed were noted if possibl e. 'Prise' differs from 'probe' in that 'prising' involves leverage and sometimes breakage of the substrate (usually bark) to obtain hidden prey. Foraging in fo rm ation was obtain ed during the 33.2 hours that parent birds were followed away from nests (Table 1). Displays and calls The following displays and calls were recorded when they occurred (see Wood & Ley 2005): 1. Wing-quivering by one of the pair 2. Mutual wing-quivering 3. Solo songs, usually while stationary 4. Duets, usually while perched 5. Response songs 6. Territorial song-flights 7. Alarm calls. If a display and call occurred together (e.g. wing-quivering with solo song), each behaviour was counted separately. Binoculars were used for nest-watches and to obtain foraging information, but two recording methods were employed. AJL dictated onto a hand-held tape-cassette-recorder and later transcribed the tapes onto a word-processor. KAW recorded obse1vations and information directly into fi eld books. Nest-watches were from unconcealed positions between 10 m and 20 m from nests. Most distances were measured with a portable odometer, driven by a rolling wheel. Otherwise they were stepped. Heights were calculated from measurements with a clinometer or 15-m extendable fibreglass tube. Times were taken from watches, set digitally to indicate hours, minutes and seconds. Ambient temperatures were obtained from the Meteorological Station at the New South Wales State Forests Office in Baradine. All times are Eastern Standard Time. Home-range and territory terminology foll ows Odum & Kuenzler (1955). The breeding home­ ra nge is the maximum area used by the breeding pair in the nest-building, incubation and nestling \0 Table 1 0 Observations of a breeding pair of Striped Honeyeaters at Baradine, NSW, in 2003. Date Breeding stage Duration of observations (h) Notes (day/month) Nest-watches Other a 11/9 Nest-building 0.5 (KW) Nil Nest 1 seen-appeared complete. 21/9 Nest-building Nil 2.5 (KW) Nest 2 found at 1650 h. 22/9 Nest-building 12 (KW) Nil 23/9 Nest-building 7.5 (KW) Nil ~ 29/9 Nest-building 2.3 (KW) Nil 0 30/9 Nest-building 7.2 (KW) 4 (KW) No eggs at 0721 h. 0v 01/10 Nest-building 1.5 (KW) Nil No eggs at 0842 h. [<? 13/10 Incubation 0.5 (KW) 1 (KW) Three eggs at 1740 h. 14/10 Incubation 10.8 (KW) 1.2 (KW) (;; 15/10 Incubation 5.5 (KW) 1.7 (KW) Light rain in late afternoon. >-< 16/10 Incubation 3.3 (KW) 1.5 (KW) Light rain in early morning. 17/10 Incubation 4.7 (AL), 1 (KW) Nil Female banded orange at 0910 h. 27/10 Nestling 5.5 (AL) Nil One nestling c. 4 days old, one egg at 1645 h. 28/10 Nestling 8.4 (AL) 3.8 (KW) Male banded white at 0950 h. 29110 Nestling 6 (AL), 4.4 (KW) 0.5 (KW) Cold gusty wind all day. 30/10 Nestling 7.6 (KW) Nil One nestling but no eggs at 1510 h. 03/11 Nestling 4 (AL) Nil ......'T1 04/11 Nestling 6.6 (AL) Nil Nestling growth well advanced. til 10/11 Post-fledging Nil 2.5 (KW) Parents but not nestling seen. 11/11 Nest-building 4.3 (KW) 2.5 (KW) Nest 2 collected at 0945 h. Nest 3 found at 1155 h. G 0 12/11 Nest-building 2 (KW) Nil 13/11 Nest-building 5 (KW) 2.5 (KW) ......~6 Cil 24/11 ? 1 (KW) 0.5 (KW) Only male seen (not female). i..., 25/11 ? 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