Coastal wattle vs Common Cicadabird

Acacia cyclops compared with Edolisoma tenuirostre

Taxonomic Classification

Rank Coastal wattle Common Cicadabird
Kingdom Plantae (Plants) Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants) Chordata (Chordates)
Class Magnoliopsida (Dicots) Aves (Birds)
Order Fabales (Legumes & Allies) Passeriformes (Songbirds)
Family Fabaceae Campephagidae
Genus Acacia Edolisoma
Species Acacia cyclops Edolisoma tenuirostre

Conservation Status

Coastal wattle

LC — Least Concern

Common Cicadabird

LC — Least Concern

Physical Characteristics

Attribute Coastal wattle Common Cicadabird
Diet
Average Lifespan
Average Length
Average Weight

Habitat & Geographic Range

Coastal wattle

Habitat

Found across multiple habitat types including tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests, and tropical and subtropical grasslands and savannas, among 8 distinct biome types spanning the Afrotropic and Palearctic realms. Populations are also found in montane and highland environments at higher elevations.

Range

Widely distributed across Africa (13 countries), Asia (Israel), Europe (4 countries), and North America (United States).

Common Cicadabird

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found in Norway.

Coastal wattle

Coastal wattle (Acacia cyclops) is a dense, fast-growing shrub in the family Fabaceae, native to the southwestern and southern coastal regions of Western Australia, from Shark Bay south to the Nullarbor Plain. It grows on coastal dunes, sandy scrubland, and limestone substrates near the sea, where it tolerates salt spray, wind, and summer drought. Coastal wattle produces distinctive circular seeds with bright red arillate coatings, making them highly attractive to birds. Although valued in its native range for coastal stabilisation and revegetation, the species has become highly invasive in southern Africa, particularly South Africa, where it was introduced for dune stabilisation in the 19th century and has since spread extensively across the Cape Floristic Region, displacing native fynbos vegetation. It is listed among the 100 worst invasive species globally by the IUCN Invasive Species Specialist Group. In Australia, it is assessed as Least Concern. Management of invasive populations in South Africa involves mechanical removal and biological control efforts aimed at protecting the critically threatened fynbos biome.

Common Cicadabird

<em>Edolisoma tenuirostre</em>, commonly known as the common cicadabird, is a bird species with a documented record from Norway. It typically inhabits aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments, often associated with forest canopies, forest edges, and wooded areas in its native range across the Australasian region. The species is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, indicating that it is not currently at risk of significant population decline at a global level. Common cicadabird belongs to the genus <em>Edolisoma</em> within the family Campephagidae. It is a slender, cuckoo-shrike-like bird that typically forages for insects and other invertebrates in the forest canopy, often remaining inconspicuous due to its cryptic coloration and preference for the upper tree strata. Males and females typically exhibit marked sexual dimorphism in plumage. Biological traits such as average lifespan, body length, and mass of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature. The species' broad native range across Australasia contributes to its currently stable conservation status.

Nature FYI Family

Explore more of the natural world across our sister sites.

Part of the Nature FYI family — FYIPedia