Mangrove Gerygone

1. White eyebrow stripe and broken eye-ring

2. Black-banded tail with white spots visible in flight

3. Red iris and soft, musical song

Mangrove Gerygones are active insectivores, feeding on a variety of insects such as beetles, wasps, moths, and spiders found in mangrove foliage. They sometimes join mixed-species feeding flocks. Their nests are compact, oval, and domed, with a hooded side entrance, often constructed from roots, grass, spider webs, moss, and bark, and suspended from mangrove branches. Breeding is typically biannual in the north (peaking in the wet-dry and dry-wet transition periods) and mainly spring-summer in the east. Females build the nest and incubate the eggs, with both parents feeding the chicks. Nest predation and brood parasitism are significant threats, and some birds build nests near wasp colonies for added protection.

Mangrove Gerygones are found in coastal mangrove forests and nearby woodlands from the Kimberley in Western Australia, across the Northern Territory, through Queensland, and down to central New South Wales. They are highly specialized for mangrove habitats but may also be seen in adjacent paperbark thickets, especially where mangroves are less dense. They forage at all levels of the mangrove forest, from the canopy to the exposed roots, and are most active in the morning.