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The Bell Miner

Entry for 'Miners' in Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide

The entry for 'miners' in Australian Bird Names: A Complete Guide by Ian Fraser and Jeannie Gray (CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria, 2013) mentions yet another folk etymology for 'Bell Miner' but suggests the mynas of Asia as being more plausible. The word 'minah' or 'miner' was already current in the mid 19th century:

Concerning the Bell Miner, the entry in Fraser and Gray confirms that Bellbird was in common use from the very early days of the colonisation of Australia:

Manorina melanocephala was early called by a number of ornithological names; 'Noisy Miner' only became general in the ornithological literature much later. Popular names, in particular Soldier Bird, are older:


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