Black-chinned honeyeater

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Black-chinned honeyeater
Black-chinned Honeyeater 0A2A9130.jpg
Eastern subspecies
Black-chinned Honeyeater (Melithreptus gularis).jpg
Golden backed subspecies
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Meliphagidae
Genus: Melithreptus
Species:
M. gularis
Binomial name
Melithreptus gularis
(Gould, 1837)
Synonyms

Melithreptus laetior (Gould, 1875)

The black-chinned honeyeater (Melithreptus gularis) is a species of passerine bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical dry forests.

Contents

Taxonomy

The black-chinned honeyeater was first described by John Gould in 1837 as Haematops gularis. He also described what he called the golden-backed honeyeater (as Melithreptus laetior) of northern Australia in 1875. Frederick George Waterhouse of the South Australian Museum had sent him four skins, writing of their beauty. Gould noted that it was clearly closely related to M. gularis, but differed in its plumage and smaller size. [2] Richard Schodde united them into a single species in 1975, though Hugh Ford queried this in 1986, as he felt the two forms were as distinct as the yellow-tinted and fuscous honeyeaters that had similar ranges. [3] Schodde countered that the black-chinned and golden-backed honeyeaters shared a much broader zone of hybridization. [4] Since then they have been maintained as two subspecies of M. gularis, though Christidis and Boles noted in 2008 that data was limited and more fieldwork and genetic investigation were needed. [5] Genetic data published in 2010 shows the two taxa diverged between 0.3 and 1.2 million years ago, separated by the Carpentarian Barrier, located south of the Gulf of Carpentaria. [6]

The black-chinned honeyeater is a member of the genus Melithreptus , with several species of similar size and (apart from the brown-headed honeyeater) black-headed appearance, in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. Molecular markers show the black-chinned honeyeater is most closely related to the brown-headed, while the similarly plumaged strong-billed honeyeater was actually an earlier offshoot between 6.7 and 3.4 million years ago. These three species are classified in the subgenus Eidopsarus; they have short sturdy feet, congregate in smaller flocks, live in more forested habitat than the other subgenus, and probe for insects on branches and bark, rather than in the foliage. [6]

Description

A mid-sized honeyeater ranging from 14 to 16 cm (5.6–6.4 in) in length, it is olive-brown above and buff below, with a black head, nape and throat, with a bluish patch of bare skin over the eye and a white crescent-shaped patch on the nape. The legs and feet are orange. Juveniles have an all-over browner plumage. It makes a scratchy creep-creep-creep call, as well as a more musical one. [7] Ford noted that individuals from southeastern Queensland northwards had more yellow-tinged upperparts and paler underparts; and that those of northeastern Queensland more matched the golden-backed subspecies, though the bare skin around their eyes remained aqua-blue. [3]

The golden-backed subspecies differs by having a yellow nape and rump, green-yellow back, smaller black on chin, more grey-white than buff breast, white flanks and abdomen, lighter brown wings, green-edged rectrices, and yellow-green bare skin around the eyes. [3]

Distribution and habitat

The range of the black-chinned honeyeater is across northern Australia, from northwest Western Australia (including the Kimberley, Pilbara, Great Sandy and northern Gibson deserts), through the Top End and the Gulf Country to Cape York in Queensland, through central and eastern Queensland and into central New South Wales. It occurs east of the Great Divide in the Northern Rivers region of New South Wales, but is rare further south and appears to have declined in the Sydney region. It is found across central and northern Victoria and into eastern South Australia. [7] It is considered vulnerable in New South Wales [8] and South Australia, [9] although it is secure overall. It lives in open woodland and dry sclerophyll forest, often near watercourses. [7]

The species is absent from savanna on the western edge of the Einasleigh Uplands, particularly around the Newcastle and Gregory Ranges. [3]

Feeding

Insects form the bulk of the diet, and like its close relatives, the brown-headed and strong-billed honeyeaters, the black-chinned honeyeater forages by probing in the bark of trunks and branches of trees. [6]

Breeding

Black-chinned honeyeaters may nest from July to December, breeding once or twice during this time. The nest is a thick-walled bowl of grasses and bits of bark, lined with softer plant material, hidden in the outer foliage of a tall tree, usually a eucalypt. One or (more commonly) two eggs are laid, 22 × 16 mm in size, and shiny, buff-pink, sparsely spotted with red-brown (more so on the larger end). [10]

Related Research Articles

<i>Manorina</i> Genus of birds

Manorina is a genus of Australian endemic honeyeaters, containing four species: the black-eared miner the yellow-throated miner, the noisy miner and the bell miner. The genus is notable for the complex social organisation of its species, which live in colonies that can be further subdivided into coteries and nest contingents.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue-faced honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The blue-faced honeyeater, also colloquially known as the Bananabird, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It is the only member of its genus, and it is most closely related to honeyeaters of the genus Melithreptus. Three subspecies are recognised. At around 29.5 cm (11.6 in) in length, the blue-faced species is large for a honeyeater. Its plumage is distinctive, with olive upperparts, white underparts, and a black head and throat with white nape and cheeks. Males and females are similar in external appearance. Adults have a blue area of bare skin on each side of the face readily distinguishing them from juveniles, which have yellow or green patches of bare skin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-browed pardalote</span> Species of bird

The red-browed pardalote is a small brightly coloured insectivorous passerine, endemic to Australia. A gleaning specialist, they forage primarily in eucalypt trees . The Latin word rubricatus means 'red-ochred' which is descriptive of their orange-red eyebrow. Other common names include red-browed diamondbird, bellbird, cape red-browed, pale red-browed, fawn-eyed, fawn-eyebrowed and pallid or red-lored pardalote.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarlet myzomela</span> Species of bird

The scarlet myzomela or scarlet honeyeater is a small passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to Australia. It was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801. At 9 to 11 cm long, it is the smallest honeyeater in Australia. It has a short tail and relatively long down-curved bill. It is sexually dimorphic; the male is a striking bright red with black wings, while the female is entirely brown. The species is more vocal than most honeyeaters, and a variety of calls have been recorded, including a bell-like tinkling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-naped honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The white-naped honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to eastern Australia. Birds from southwestern Australia have been shown to be a distinct species, Gilbert's honeyeater, and the eastern birds are more closely related to the black-headed honeyeater of Tasmania. One of several similar species of black-headed honeyeaters in the genus Melithreptus, it dwells in dry sclerophyll eucalypt woodland. Its diet consists of nectar from various flowers, and it also feeds on insects.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-plumed honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The white-plumed honeyeater is a small passerine bird endemic to Australia. White-plumed honeyeaters are common around water and are often seen in backyards and suburbs with vegetation cover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-tufted honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The yellow-tufted honeyeater is a passerine bird found in the south-east ranges of Australia. A predominantly black and yellow honeyeater, it is split into four subspecies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western spinebill</span> Species of bird

The western spinebill is a honeyeater found in the heath and woodland of south-western Australia. Ranging between 12–16 centimetres (4.7–6.3 in) long, it weighs around 10 grams (0.35 oz). It has a black head, gray back and wings, with a red band behind its neck and from its throat to its breast. Its curved bill is long and slender.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-throated honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The white-throated honeyeater is a bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to New Guinea and eastern and northern Australia. It is 11.5 to 14.5 cm long, olive-green above and white below, with a black head, a white or pale blue patch over the eye, and a white stripe across the nape.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black honeyeater</span> Bird in the family Meliphagidae endemic to Australia

The black honeyeater is a species of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. The black honeyeater exhibits sexual dimorphism, with the male being black and white while the female is a speckled grey-brown; immature birds look like the female. The species is endemic to Australia, and ranges widely across the arid areas of the continent, through open woodland and shrubland, particularly in areas where the emu bush and related species occur.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow chat</span> Species of bird

The yellow chat is a small passerine bird endemic to Australia. They are known for their remarkable adaptions that aid their survival in their arid habitat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-throated honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The yellow-throated honeyeater is a species of passerine bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is similar in behaviour and appearance to the white-eared honeyeater and is endemic to Australia's island state of Tasmania. It was formerly considered a pest of orchards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grey-headed honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The grey-headed honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow-spotted honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The yellow-spotted honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is also known as the lesser lewin. The bird is endemic to northern Queensland. The bird's common name refers to the yellow patch that members of the species have behind their eyes.

<i>Melithreptus</i> Genus of birds

Melithreptus is a genus of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. Its members are native to Australia. It is generally considered to contain seven species, although some authors have classified the related blue-faced honeyeater within this genus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brown-headed honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The brown-headed honeyeater is a species of passerine bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Strong-billed honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The strong-billed honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is one of two species of the genus Melithreptus endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitat is temperate forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lemon-bellied flyrobin</span> Species of bird

The lemon-bellied flyrobin or lemon-bellied flycatcher is a species of bird in the family Petroicidae. Found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea, its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-headed myzomela</span> Passerine bird of the honeyeater family

The red-headed myzomela or red-headed honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It was described by John Gould in 1840. Two subspecies are recognised, with the nominate race M. e. erythrocephala distributed around the tropical coastline of Australia, and M. e. infuscata in New Guinea. Though widely distributed, the species is not abundant within this range. While the IUCN lists the Australian population of M. e. infuscata as being near threatened, as a whole the widespread range means that its conservation is of least concern.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gilbert's honeyeater</span> Species of bird

Gilbert's honeyeater, also known as the Swan River honeyeater or western white-naped honeyeater, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southwestern Australia. A mid-sized honeyeater, it is olive-green above and white below, with a black head, nape and throat and a white patch over the eye and a white crescent-shaped patch on the nape. The bill is brownish-black and the eyes a dull red. The sexes have similar plumage.

References

  1. BirdLife International (2017). "Melithreptus gularis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2017: e.T22704143A118654161. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2017-3.RLTS.T22704143A118654161.en . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. Gould, John (1875). "Further contributions to the Ornithology of Australia". Annals and Magazine of Natural History. 16 (94): 285–87. doi:10.1080/00222937508681849.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ford, Hugh A. (1986). "Avian Hybridization and Allopatry in the Region of the Einasleigh Uplands and Burdekin-Lynd Divide, North-eastern Queensland". Emu. 86 (2): 87–110. doi:10.1071/MU9860087.
  4. Schodde, Richard; Mason, I.J. (1999). The Directory of Australian Birds : Passerines. A Taxonomic and Zoogeographic Atlas of the Biodiversity of Birds in Australia and its Territories. Collingwood, Australia: CSIRO Publishing. p. 276. ISBN   9780643102934.
  5. Christidis, Leslie; Boles, Walter (2008). The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union. p. 189. ISBN   978-0-643065-11-6.
  6. 1 2 3 Toon A, Hughes JM, Joseph L (2010). "Multilocus analysis of honeyeaters (Aves: Meliphagidae) highlights spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the influence of biogeographic barriers in the Australian monsoonal zone". Molecular Ecology. 19 (14): 2980–94. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04730.x. PMID   20609078. S2CID   25346288.
  7. 1 2 3 "Black-chinned Honeyeater". Birds in Backyards. Birds Australia. 24 May 2006. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  8. "Black-chinned Honeyeater (eastern subspecies) - profile". Threatened species, populations & ecological communities in NSW. Department of Environment and Conservation, New South Wales Government. 1 September 2005. Retrieved 23 July 2010.
  9. "Black-chinned Honeyeater". birdlife.org.au. BirdLife Australia. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  10. Beruldsen, Gordon (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self. pp. 314–315. ISBN   0-646-42798-9.