Western spinebill
Acanthorhynchus superciliosus Gould, 1837
The western spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus) is a species in the family Meliphagidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 9 g to 10.5 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the western spinebill
- Weight
- 9 g – 10.5 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Nectarivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- shrublandsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 1.4 – 1.48src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Photos of the western spinebill
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the western spinebill live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The western spinebill is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Why a country list is not a range map
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the western spinebill?
The western spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus) is a honeyeater found in the heath and woodland of south-western Australia. Ranging between 12–16 centimetres (4.7–6.3 in) long, it weighs around 10 grams (0.35 oz). It has a black head, gray back and wings, with a red band behind its neck and from its throat to its breast. Its curved bill is long and slender.
Like other honeyeaters, the western spinebill feeds on nectar. It tends to obtain its nectar from lower shrubs than most other honeyeaters, including Banksia, Dryandra, Grevillea, Adenanthos, and Verticordia. It also feeds from trees of Banksia and Eucalyptus, and from herbs such as Anigozanthos. In addition to nectar, it feeds on insects that it captures in the air or on plants.
It is a frequent visitor to Adenanthos obovatus, and its territories are smaller when they contain more shrubs of this species. Male spinebills often contest their territory borders with other males, and allow females to live within them. These territories range from 0.2 to 0.5 hectares in size. With their long curved bills, western spinebills are the only honeyeaters able to gain nectar out of the tube-like flowers.
It breeds from September to January, in a nest made from bark, plant stems, down and spider web. It lays 1–2 eggs, usually incubated by the female.
From the Wikipedia article “Western spinebill” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Western_spinebill&oldid=1379734941), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the western spinebill endangered?
The western spinebill is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.
How is the western spinebill classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMeliphagidae
- genusAcanthorhynchus
- SpeciesAcanthorhynchus superciliosus Gould, 1837
Synonyms Acanthorhynchus superciliaris, Acanthorhynchus superciliosus stirlingi, Acanthorhynchus superciliosus wilsoni
Other names and names in other languages (32)
- bec d'espina occidentalCatalan
- jehlozobka západníCzech
- melysor pigfain y GorllewinWelsh
- Vestlig SeglnæbDanish
- BuntkopfhonigfresserGerman
- Buntkopf-HonigfresserGerman
- rufkola mielmanĝuloEsperanto
- Picoespina occidentalSpanish
- vöö-meelindEstonian
- vyömesikkoFinnish
- Méliphage festonnéFrench
- tankokljuni medojedCroatian
- nyugati mézmadárHungarian
- Spinorinco occidentaleItalian
- ニシキリハシミツスイJapanese
- vakarinis smailiasnapis medsiurbysLithuanian
- RoesthalshoningvogelDutch
- trikolorhonningeterNorwegian
- miodopijek rdzawoszyiPolish
- papa-mel-ocidentalPortuguese
- papa-mel-de-pescoço-ferrugemPortuguese
- Западная титиараRussian
- Западный шилоклювый медососRussian
- peliar hrdzavokrkýSlovak
- Zapadni tankokljuni medojedSerbian
- västlig sylnäbbSwedish
- rosthalsad honungsfågelSwedish
- Hercai KılgagaTurkish
- медолюб-шилодзьоб західнийUkrainian
- 西尖嘴吸蜜鳥Chinese
- 西尖嘴吸蜜鸟Chinese
- 西方刺嘴吸蜜鳥Chinese
Relatives of the western spinebill
Other species in the same genus Acanthorhynchus.
Eastern spinebill
Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the western spinebill?
An adult western spinebill weighs 9 g – 10.5 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the western spinebill live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the western spinebill for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the western spinebill endangered?
The western spinebill is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the western spinebill?
The western spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus) belongs to the family Meliphagidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Western spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-spinebill
“Western spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-spinebill.
@misc{western_spinebill_2026,
title = {Western spinebill (Acanthorhynchus superciliosus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/western-spinebill},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}