The mangrove gerygone (Gerygone levigaster) is a species of bird in the Australian warbler family Acanthizidae. The species is also known as the mangrove warbler. The species is thought to form a superspecies with the closely related fan-tailed gerygone of Melanesia and the Australian western gerygone. There are three subspecies of mangrove gerygone, G. l. pallida, found in southern New Guinea, the nominate race G. l. levigaster, which is found from coastal Western Australia to coastal north Queensland, and G. l. cantator, which is found from coastal Queensland to New South Wales. The species is uncommon in New Guinea and has suffered some declines due to mangrove clearances but is not considered threatened by the IUCN.
The species is principally distributed in mangrove forests and in forests and woodland adjacent to mangroves. The species will move into nearby forests from mangroves to feed, particularly in the breeding season. Where its range overlaps with that of the large-billed gerygone in the Kimberley it is actually displaced from the mangroves and is instead found in scrubland dominated by paperbarks and acacia.
The mangrove gerygone is a typical member of the genus Gerygone, they are small birds with rounded wings, 9–11 cm long and weighing 6 g. The plumage is grey above with a white throat, belly, flanks and rump. There is a distinct white eye stripe. The bill and legs are black and the iris is red. The subspecies G. l. pallida is slightly browner above and G. l. cantator is slightly larger and heavier. The song, which is similar to that of the western gerygone, has been described as "sweet, rich, tuneful".
The species feeds in the foliage of trees on insects, including beetles, grasshoppers, wasps, ants and moths. It is less likely to catch prey in the air than other gerygones, but will join mixed-species feeding flocks with white-eyes, honey-eaters and fantails. The species mostly feeds in the canopy but will forage amongst the roots of mangroves.
The mangrove gerygone breeds throughout the year, although principally in spring-summer in the east of Australia and during the dry season in the north. The female builds the oval domed nest. It is constructed out of roots, grass, spider webs, moss, seaweed and bark, and hangs from mangroves. Two to three eggs,[3] are laid in the nest and are incubated for 14–17 days. Both parents feed the chick for another 14–17 days. A number of cuckoo species are brood parasites of this species.
^BirdLife International (2016). "Gerygone levigaster". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22704718A93981863. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22704718A93981863.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
^Gill F, D Donsker & P Rasmussen (Eds). 2020. IOC World Bird List (v10.2). doi : 10.14344/IOC.ML.10.2.
^Noske, R.A. (2001) "The breeding biology of the Mangrove Gerygone, Gerygone laevigaster, in the Darwin region, with notes on brood parasitism by the Little Bronze-cuckoo, Chrysococcyx minutillus". Emu101: 129-135 doi:10.1071/MU00013
mangrovegerygone (Gerygone levigaster) is a species of bird in the Australian warbler family Acanthizidae. The species is also known as the mangrove...
well as crows. The brown gerygone is similar to both the large-billed (G. magnirostris) and mangrove (G. levigaster) gerygones. It differs from the former...
javanica), and Golden-bellied Gerygone (Gerygone sulphurea). Some of them are distinctive birds of mangrove forests such as Mangrove Jungle-flycatcher (Cyornis...
The fairy gerygone (Gerygone palpebrosa), previously known as the fairy warbler, is a species of bird in the family Acanthizidae native to New Guinea and...
is a resident of Careel Bay, along with the regionally significant MangroveGerygone and international migratory species such as the Eastern Curlew, Whimbrel...
family Pardalotidae (Pardalotes). It is a sister-species to the mangrovegerygone (Gerygone levigaster). The close relationship of this phylogenetic pair...
wide range of wooded habitats, from subalpine to tropical rainforest, and mangrove swamp to semi-arid scrubland. All are primarily insectivores, although...
subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Gerygone tenebrosa. BirdLife International (2016). "Gerygone tenebrosa". IUCN...
moist lowland forest and subtropical or tropical mangrove forest. BirdLife International (2016). "Gerygone inornata". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species...
tattlers, as well as being an important site for the restricted-range dusky gerygone. Another IBA is 11 hectares (27 acres) Sunday Island, lying in the north...
thornbill Weebill Dusky gerygone Brown gerygone Western gerygone Norfolk gerygone (Norfolk Island endemic) Lord Howe gerygone (extinct; formerly endemic...
habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and tropical mangrove forests. The Kadavu honeyeater is described as being fairly large, somewhat...
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