Behavior & Habitats: The brightly colorful Yellow-breasted Boatbill (Machaerirhynchus flaviventer) is an active feeder, found in the middle and upper strata of the lower-altitude rainforests in northeastern Queensland. Foraging alone or in pairs, they swoop in to catch fast-moving insects in midair and return to eat or pick them off the surface of leaves. Boatbills sometimes feed with mixed flocks of other birds.
At rest on twigs, boatbills sit upright and often quiver their tails as they call constantly in their soft, wheezy trills while moving through the forest in a crouch. When birds are excited or on display, they cock their tails like wrens. A group interaction may involve several males flying back and forth between 30 meters and constantly calling one another.
A moist forest environment is its natural habitat, particularly in subtropical or tropical regions. It is abundant in its natural habitat and does not have a preference for altitude.
The male is usually the one to build the nest, and it usually takes a week for it to be completed. It is a shared incubation process between the sexes that alternates irregularly. Birds preparing to relieve themselves call as they approach, but they don’t leave the nest until they hop within a few centimeters of it.
Moreover, it is able to forage for insect prey across the canopy and along the forest floor using the hooked tip of its beak. During rainfall in rainforests, it feeds on earthworms and other ground insects beneath the foliage in gallery forests. It also feeds near riverbanks following heavy rains.
Identification: MALE: Upper parts are olive-green to almost black. Three outer tail feathers are white-tipped; the crown and tail are black. Coverts on upper wings are green to black with white tips; flight feathers are black with pale yellow edges on inner secondaries. The lores, face, and ear covers are black; the eyebrows are bright yellow. White is the color of the chin and throat; yellow is the color of the breast and undertail. The eyes are dark brown. The bill is black with a bone tip. The feet are leaden.
FEMALE: A dull olive color on the upper part of the bird; cream-yellow eyebrows; yellow breasts flecked with dusky spots.
IMMATURES: Ad female, has paler breasts and bellies, strongly flecked with dusky brown.
Call: Yellow-breasted Boatbills call in short, repeated chips.
Song: Yellow-breasted Boatbill’s song comprises three or four short, soft, sweet whistles, the last changing in inflection and continuing into a soft trill wit-wit-zee-ee-ee-witby male. Between each stanza, a short chip is placed between them to form a series lasting about two seconds.
Nest and Breeds: Moreover, Nesting and breeding occur between September and March. The nest is a shallow saucer made up of vine tendrils and stems encircled with cobwebs. Usually suspended in a leafy horizontal fork 3-25 meters high, the nest is lined with finer tendrils. In gallery forests, the boatbill is able to nest safely among shrubbery near riverbanks, which contains an abundance of airborne insects that it can consume.
Eggs: Two slightly lustrous white eggs are laid by the Yellow-breasted Boatbill, which is dotted with shades of red and purple, and concentrated at the larger end. Eggs measure approximately 17 x 13 mm and are oval in shape. Both sexes are involved in incubation.
Distribution: A Yellow-breasted Boatbill can be found in lowland and hill rainforests from Cape York Peninsula to Ingham, Queensland. New Guinea and nearby islands are also home to this species.
Races: There are six races, but only two in Australia.
Family: The yellow-breasted boatbill belongs to the Machaerirhynchidae family, in the genus Machaerirhynchus.
Other names: This attractive colorful bird is also known as Boat-billed Flycatcher, Yellow-breasted Flatbill, and Yellow-breasted Flycatcher.
Size: The size of a Yellow-breasted Boatbill is about 115-120 mm long and weighs around 9-10 g.
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