Fossil Honeyeaters & Fossil rivers

[Muriel Brookield <>]

Admirers of present-day honeyeaters will be delighted to learn that the
Meliphagidae have recently been dated as far back as the late Tertiary;
by Walter Boles (see latest Emu), from a fossilised
tarsometatarsus found at Riversleigh, Qd. It is roughly the size of that
of today's Fuscous Honeyeater.
So HEs have been around for quite a time - tough little birds.

On Sunday I was privileged to see Fuscous Honeyeaters by the Queanbeyan
River, about 5 kms further south than Marnix's observations at Corner
Hill. They were with a whole bunch of other species of honeyeaters, which
seemed to be taking a break from migration and shared taking dips in the
small pools in the  river-bed with the local Yellow-tufted HEs. Small
groups of Yellow-faced and White-naped flew backwards and forwards in the
trees, some giving their migrating call, but not actually leaving. It was
a sunny pm, and it looked as though they were not likely to take off that
day. A late migration.

The Queanbeyan River is a worry, and could eventually be a fossil
river-bed if drought continues. Both last year and this there has been no
flow in the early months, and it has been possible to walk across it. At
the moment at our place, there are only very small pools with rapidly
growing algae. And this vanishing 'river' is what is supposed to feed
Googong Dam, and keep Canberra's water-supply flowing....
Maybe Vicki Dunn (Opposition Environment speaker) would like a walk up
this
fossilising river and the similar Naas River before building another dam.

Muriel