Honeyeater

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Honeyeaters
Crescent Honeyeater Edit2.jpg
Female crescent honeyeater (Phylidonyris pyrrhopterus)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Superfamily: Meliphagoidea
Family: Meliphagidae
Vigors, 1825
Genera [1]

See text

The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Guinea, and found also in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea. Bali, on the other side of the Wallace Line, has a single species. [2] [3]

Contents

In total, there are 186 species in 55 genera, roughly half of them native to Australia, many of the remainder occupying New Guinea. [4] [5] With their closest relatives, the Maluridae (Australian fairy-wrens), Pardalotidae (pardalotes), and Acanthizidae (thornbills, Australian warblers, scrubwrens, etc.), they comprise the superfamily Meliphagoidea and originated early in the evolutionary history of the oscine passerine radiation. [6] Although honeyeaters look and behave very much like other nectar-feeding passerines around the world (such as the sunbirds and flowerpeckers), they are unrelated, and the similarities are the consequence of convergent evolution.

The extent of the evolutionary partnership between honeyeaters and Australasian flowering plants is unknown, but probably substantial. A great many Australian plants are fertilised by honeyeaters, particularly the Proteaceae, Myrtaceae, and Ericaceae. It is known that the honeyeaters are important in New Zealand (see Anthornis ) as well, and assumed that the same applies in other areas.

Description

A female eastern spinebill feeding. Honeyeaters typically hang from branches while feeding on nectar. Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris female.jpg
A female eastern spinebill feeding. Honeyeaters typically hang from branches while feeding on nectar.

Honeyeaters can be either nectarivorous, insectivorous, frugivorous, or a combination of nectar- and insect-eating. [7] Unlike the hummingbirds of America, honeyeaters do not have extensive adaptations for hovering flight, though smaller members of the family do hover hummingbird-style to collect nectar from time to time. In general, honeyeaters prefer to flit quickly from perch to perch in the outer foliage, stretching up or sideways or hanging upside down at need. Many genera have a highly developed brush-tipped tongue, frayed and fringed with bristles which soak up liquids readily. The tongue is flicked rapidly and repeatedly into a flower, the upper mandible then compressing any liquid out when the bill is closed.

In addition to nectar, all or nearly all honeyeaters take insects and other small creatures, usually by hawking, sometimes by gleaning. A few of the larger species, notably the white-eared honeyeater, and the strong-billed honeyeater of Tasmania, probe under bark for insects and other morsels. Many species supplement their diets with a little fruit, and a small number eat considerable amounts of fruit, [8] particularly in tropical rainforests and, oddly, in semi-arid scrubland. The painted honeyeater is a mistletoe specialist. Most, however, exist on a diet of nectar supplemented by varying quantities of insects. In general, the honeyeaters with long, fine bills are more nectarivorous, the shorter-billed species less so, but even specialised nectar eaters like the spinebills take extra insects to add protein to their diet when breeding.

The movements of honeyeaters are poorly understood. Most are at least partially mobile but many movements seem to be local, possibly between favourite haunts as the conditions change. Fluctuations in local abundance are common, but the small number of definitely migratory honeyeater species aside, the reasons are yet to be discovered. Many follow the flowering of favourite food plants. Arid zone species appear to travel further and less predictably than those of the more fertile areas. It seems probable that no single explanation will emerge.

Taxonomy and systematics

The genera Cleptornis (golden honeyeater) and Apalopteron (Bonin honeyeater), formerly treated in the Meliphagidae, have recently been transferred to the Zosteropidae on genetic evidence. The genus Notiomystis (New Zealand stitchbird), formerly classified in the Meliphagidae, has recently been removed to the newly erected Notiomystidae of which it is the only member. [9] The "Macgregor's bird-of-paradise", historically considered a bird-of-paradise (Paradisaeidae), was recently found to be a honeyeater. [10] It is now known as "MacGregor's honeyeater" and is classified in the Meliphagidae.

The wattled smoky honeyeater (Melipotes carolae), described in 2007, had been discovered in December 2005 in the Foja Mountains of Papua, Indonesia. [11]

In 2008, a study that included molecular phylogenetic analysis of museum specimens in the genera Moho and Chaetoptila , both extinct genera endemic to the Hawaiian islands, argued that these five species were not members of the Meliphagidae and instead belong to their own distinct family, the Mohoidae. [12]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australasian wren</span> Family of birds

The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species in six genera.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australasian robin</span> Family of birds

The bird family Petroicidae includes 51 species in 19 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called the Australasian robins. Within the family species are known variously as robins, scrub-robins and flyrobins. They are only distantly related to the European robin of Europe, north Africa and western Asia, a member of family Muscicapidae.

<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">Stitchbird</span> Species of bird

The stitchbird or hihi is a honeyeater-like bird endemic to the North Island and adjacent offshore islands of New Zealand. Its evolutionary relationships have long puzzled ornithologists, but it is now classed as the only member of its own family, the Notiomystidae. It is rare, being extirpated everywhere except Little Barrier Island, but has been reintroduced to two other island sanctuaries and four locations on the North Island mainland. Current population estimations for mature individuals in the wild are 2,500–3,400.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meliphagoidea</span> Superfamily of birds

Meliphagoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. They contain a vast diversity of small to mid-sized songbirds widespread in the Austropacific region. The Australian Continent has the largest richness in genera and species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spinebill</span> Genus of birds

Spinebill is the name given to two members of the honeyeater family, both in the genus Acanthorhynchus, which is Latin for "spine bill". They are around 15 centimetres in length, and are coloured black, white and chestnut, with a long, downcurved bill. They are native to Australia, with one species in the east and one in the west. They feed on nectar as well as insects, and live mainly in forests, gardens, and other shrubbery habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Noisy friarbird</span> Species of bird

The noisy friarbird is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southern New Guinea and eastern Australia. It is one of several species known as friarbirds whose heads are bare of feathers. It is brown-grey in colour, with a prominent knob on its bare black-skinned head. It feeds on insects and nectar.

<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-eared honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The white-eared honeyeater is a medium-sized honeyeater found in Australia. It is a member of the family Meliphagidae which has 190 recognised species with about half of them found in Australia. This makes them members of the most diverse family of birds in Australia. White-eared honeyeaters are easily identifiable by their olive-green body, black head and white ear-patch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black honeyeater</span> Species of birds

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">Pied honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The pied honeyeater is a species of bird in the family of honeyeaters Meliphagidae and the sole species in the genus Certhionyx. This species is also known as the black and white honeyeater or western pied honeyeater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bristlebird</span> Family of birds

The bristlebirds are a family of passerine birds, Dasyornithidae. There are three species in one genus, Dasyornis. The family is endemic to the south-east coast and south-west corner of Australia. The genus Dasyornis was sometimes placed in the Acanthizidae or, as a subfamily, Dasyornithinae, along with the Acanthizinae and Pardalotinae, within an expanded Pardalotidae, before being elevated to full family level by Christidis & Boles (2008).

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

The tawny-crowned honeyeater is a passerine bird native to southern Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crescent honeyeater</span> Passerine bird of the family Meliphagidae from southeastern Australia

The crescent honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to southeastern Australia. A member of the genus Phylidonyris, it is most closely related to the common New Holland honeyeater and the white-cheeked honeyeater. Two subspecies are recognized, with P. p. halmaturinus restricted in range to Kangaroo Island and the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia.

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

The black-headed honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is one of two members of the genus Melithreptus endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitats are temperate forest and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. Despite its name, the black-headed honeyeater eats predominantly insects.

<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">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">White-streaked honeyeater</span> Species of bird

The white-streaked honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is monotypic within the genus Trichodere. It is endemic to Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forest.

<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.

<i>Ptilotula</i> Genus of birds

Ptilotula is a genus of honeyeater consisting of species occurring in Australia and Papua New Guinea. The genus consists of six former members of Lichenostomus, and was created after a molecular analysis showed the genus was polyphyletic. The International Ornithologists' Union accepted this change and officially included the genus in reference lists from 2013. The type species is the yellow-tinted honeyeater. Birds in this genus typically occupy dry open forest and woodland habitats, and can be found in arid and semi-arid environments.

References

  1. ↑ Sibley, C.G. and Monroe, B.L. Jr. (1990). Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN   0-300-04969-2.
  2. ↑ Andersen, M.J.; Naikatini, A.; Moyle, R.C. (2014). "A molecular phylogeny of Pacific honeyeaters (Aves: Meliphagidae) reveals extensive paraphyly and an isolated Polynesian radiation". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 71: 308–315. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2013.11.014. PMID   24315868.
  3. ↑ Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A. and Christie D. (editors). (2006). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN   978-84-96553-42-2
  4. ↑ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (2020). "Honeyeaters". IOC World Bird List Version 10.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
  5. ↑ Hay, Eleanor M.; McGee, Matthew D.; Chown, Steven L. (2022). "Geographic range size and speciation in honeyeaters". BMC Ecology and Evolution. 22 (1): 86. doi: 10.1186/s12862-022-02041-6 . PMC   9245323 . PMID   35768772. S2CID   250147316.
  6. ↑ Barker, F.K.; Cibois, A.; Schikler, P.; Feinstein, J.; Cracraft, J. (2004). "Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 101 (30): 11040–11045. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10111040B. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0401892101 . PMC   503738 . PMID   15263073.
  7. ↑ Driskell, Amy C.; Christidis, Les (2004). "Phylogeny and evolution of the Australo-Papuan honeyeaters (Passeriformes, Meliphagidae)" (PDF). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (3): 943–960. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.10.017. PMID   15120392. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 May 2012.
  8. ↑ Lindsey, Terence (1991). Forshaw, Joseph (ed.). Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds. London: Merehurst Press. p. 208. ISBN   1-85391-186-0.
  9. ↑ Driskell, A.C.; Christidis, L.; Gill, B.; Boles, W.E.; Barker, F.K.; Longmore, N.W. (2007). "A new endemic family of New Zealand passerine birds: adding heat to a biodiversity hotspot". Australian Journal of Zoology. 55 (2): 1–6. doi:10.1071/zo07007.
  10. ↑ Cracraft, J.; Feinstein, J. (2000). "What is not a bird of paradise? Molecular and morphological evidence places Macgregoria in the Meliphagidae and the Cnemophilinae near the base of the corvoid tree". Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B. 267 (1440): 233–241. doi:10.1098/rspb.2000.0992. PMC   1690532 . PMID   10714877.
  11. ↑ Beehler, B.; Prawiradilaga, D.; de Fretes, Y.; Kemp, N. (2007). "A new species of smoky honeyeater (Meliphagidae: Melipotes) from western New Guinea". The Auk. 124 (3): 1000–1009. doi: 10.1642/0004-8038(2007)124[1000:ansosh]2.0.co;2 . S2CID   85753152.
  12. ↑ Fleischer, R. C.; James, H. F.; Olson, S. L. (2008). "Convergent Evolution of Hawaiian and Australo-Pacific Honeyeaters from Distant Songbird Ancestors". Current Biology. 18 (24): 1927–1931. Bibcode:2008CBio...18.1927F. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2008.10.051 . PMID   19084408.

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