Yellow wattlebirds - What's with the wattle?!

Yellow wattlebird, Evandale, Tasmania (April 2014)

One of Tasmania's endemic bird species, the Yellow wattlebird is the largest of Australia's wattlebirds and also our largest honeyeater. It also has the largest and most ungainly looking wattles of the four wattlebird species. The wattles are the pendulous, yellow-orange bits of fleshy tissue hanging from the neck.

A close encounter with one in the township of Evandale's Pioneer Park got me curious about these structures! If what I read is true then having an impressive wattle is more likely to get you a mate. Females and males are alike.

Yellow wattlebird posing obligingly among the autumn colours of an exotic Silver birch

Anatomically wattles are lumped together with other caruncles such as dewlaps and snoods! I feel that these words are underused - rarely seen or heard in literature, music or general conversation. This travesty makes one's wattles stand on end!

The other striking feature of the Yellow wattlebird is that impressively long tail

Sharing with Wild Bird Wednesday makes me all snoody

Bird on!