Serene sound of silver bells from dawn to dusk - Bellbirds in the Blue Mountains and Cutrock Lisarow - NSW

Photo: Chris Chafer

Bell Miners (Manorina melanophrys) are honey-eaters and live in colonies of a few birds to many hundreds in the wet eucalypt forests of south-eastern Australia.
They are commonly known as bellbirds, for their call is a single metallic “tink” that sound like bells ringing in the forest.
Although reasonably common, colonies are widely separated geographically. Their green colour can make them notoriously difficult to find in tree tops and even more difficult to photograph.

Original drawing by artist Elizabeth Coxen – Bell Miner birds -‘Birds of Australia’ 1848 by John Gould

Many are unaware that John Gould’s artist wife Elizabeth Coxen (1804-1841) produced hundreds of the early drawings from the time of their marriage in 1829 until her untimely death at the age of 37, following the birth of their eighth child.