Black-eared miner

It is closely related to the much more widely distributed yellow-throated miner M. flavigula, and the taxonomic status of the black-eared miner is the subject of some controversy, with some researchers considering it a subspecies of M. flavigula.

Black-eared miners are co-operative breeders, living in colonies during the breeding season, and dispersing into the bush during non-breeding periods. Little is known of their movements during these periods.

IBA (Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas), identified by BirdLife International as being important for black-eared miner conservation, are areas containing relatively intact, mallee woodland in north-western Victoria and south-eastern South Australia. They comprise Murray-Sunset, Hattah and Annuello, the Riverland Mallee, and Wyperfeld, Big Desert and Ngarkat.[2]

Black-eared miners are listed as endangered on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999.[3]

The species' conservation status in several Australian states follows:

• New South Wales: Listed as "Critically Endangered" by the Threatened Species Conservation Act 1995, as of May 2015.[3]
• South Australia: Listed as "Endangered" by the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972, as of June 2011.[3]
• Victoria: Listed as "Threatened" by the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988), as of April 2015, and as "endangered" on the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna.[4][5] Under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has been prepared.[6]

• Calperum Station (reserve)
• Gluepot Reserve
• Taylorville Station (reserve)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Manorina melanotis.

Wikispecies has information related to Manorina melanotis.

• BirdLife Species Factsheet
• Photos and audio of black-eared miner from Cornell Lab of Ornithology's Macaulay Library
• Recordings of black-eared miner from Graeme Chapman's sound library