Red-backed Mannikin

This scrap is a Redbacked Mannikin. It weighs just nine grams and is less than 10cm long. So even when the male puffs itself up to deliver a courtship song, it’s not exactly imposing! They live on forest margins, and feed largely on seeds. We see small groups flying overhead, or arriving in busy flocks when grasses are seeding, sometimes in the company of Bronze Mannikins. More unusual food sources include algae, and we see them often around Boulder Dam and in a cleared wetland area.