Honeyeater Totally Explained

Everything about The Honeyeater totally explained

The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Hawaii, 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.
   Honeyeaters and the Australian chats make up the family Meliphagidae. In total there are 182 species in 42 genera, roughly half of them native to Australia, many of the remainder occupying New Guinea. 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.
   Although honeyeaters look and behave very much like other nectar-feeding passerines around the world (such as the sunbirds and flowerpeckers), they're unrelated, and the similarities are the consequence of convergent evolution.
   Unlike the hummingbirds of America, honeyeaters don't 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, longer in some species than others, 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.
   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 Proteacae, Myrtaceae, and Epacridacae. It is known that the honeyeaters are important in New Zealand as well, and assumed that the same applies in other areas.
   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, 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 varing quantities of insects. In general, the honeyeaters with long, fine bills are more nectarivous, the shorter-billed species less so, but even specialised nectar eaters like the spinebills take extra insects to add protein to their diet when they're 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: the general rule for honeyeater movements is that there's no general rule.
   The genus Apalopteron (Bonin Honeyeater), formerly treated in the Meliphagidae, has 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's the only member. The "Macgregor's bird-of-paradise," historically considered a bird of paradise (Paradisaeidae), was recently found to be a honeyeater. It is now known as "Macgregor's Giant Honeyeater" and is classified in the Meliphagidae.
   A new taxon of honeyeater, not yet described but apparently close to the Smoky Honeyeater, has been discovered in December 2005 in the Foja Mountains of Papua, Indonesia.(External Link

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Species of Meliphagidae (Part of the Meliphagoidea superfamily)

OBS: The list is partial, with most non-Australian members missing.

Red Wattlebird. Anthochaera carunculata

Yellow Wattlebird. Anthochaera paradoxa

Little Wattlebird. Anthochaera chrysoptera

Western Wattlebird. Anthochaera lunulata

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater. Acanthagenys rufogularis

Striped Honeyeater. Plectorhyncha lanceolata

Helmeted Friarbird. Philemon buceroides

Silver-crowned Friarbird. Philemon argenticeps

Noisy Friarbird. Philemon corniculatus

Little Friarbird. Philemon citreogularis

Regent Honeyeater. Xanthomyza phrygia

Blue-faced Honeyeater. Entomyzon cyanotis

Bell Miner. Manorina melanophrys

Noisy Miner. Manorina melanocephala

Yellow-throated Miner. Manorina flavigula

Black-eared Miner. Manorina melanotis

Macleay's Honeyeater. Xanthotis macleayana

Tawny-breasted Honeyeater. Xanthotis flaviventer

Lewin's Honeyeater. Meliphaga lewinii

Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. Meliphaga notata

Graceful Honeyeater. Meliphaga gracilis

White-lined Honeyeater. Meliphaga albilineata

Bridled Honeyeater. Lichenostomus frenatus

Eungella Honeyeater. Lichenostomus hindwoodi

Yellow-faced Honeyeater. Lichenostomus chrysops

Singing Honeyeater. Lichenostomus virescens

Varied Honeyeater. Lichenostomus versicolor

Mangrove Honeyeater. Lichenostomus fasciogularis

White-gaped Honeyeater. Lichenostomus unicolor

Yellow Honeyeater. Lichenostomus flavus

White-eared Honeyeater. Lichenostomus leucotis

Yellow-throated Honeyeater. Lichenostomus flavicollis

Yellow-tufted Honeyeater. Lichenostomus melanops

Purple-gaped Honeyeater. Lichenostomus cratitius

Grey-headed Honeyeater. Lichenostomus keartlandi

Yellow-plumed Honeyeater. Lichenostomus ornatus

Grey-fronted Honeyeater. Lichenostomus plumulus

Fuscous Honeyeater. Lichenostomus fuscus

Yellow-tinted Honeyeater. Lichenostomus flavescens

White-plumed Honeyeater. Lichenostomus penicillatus

Smoky Honeyeater. Melipotes fumigatus

Black-chinned Honeyeater. Melithreptus gularis

Strong-billed Honeyeater. Melithreptus validirostris

Brown-headed Honeyeater. Melithreptus brevirostris

White-throated Honeyeater. Melithreptus albogularis

White-naped Honeyeater. Melithreptus lunatus

Black-headed Honeyeater. Melithreptus affinis

Macgregor's Giant Honeyeater. Macgregoria pulchra

Green-backed Honeyeater. Glycichaera fallax (Aru Islands, Waigeo and Misool island, New Guinea, northeastern Australia)

Scaly-crowned Honeyeater. Lichmera lombokia (west-central Lesser Sunda Islands)

Olive Honeyeater. Lichmera argentauris (Moluccas and western islands of Papua New Guinea)

Indonesian Honeyeater. Lichmera limbata (Lesser Sunda Islands)

Brown Honeyeater. Lichmera indistincta (Aru Islands, central-southern New Guinea, Australia)

Dark-brown Honeyeater. Lichmera incana (New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, and Vanuatu)

White-tufted Honeyeater. Lichmera squamata (Lesser Sunda Islands and Kai Island)

Silver-eared Honeyeater. Lichmera alboauricularis (north-central and southeastern New Guinea)

Buru Honeyeater. Lichmera deningeri (Buru)

Seram Honeyeater. Lichmera monticola (Seram)

Yellow-eared Honeyeater. Lichmera flavicans (Timor)

Black-chested Honeyeater. Lichmera notabilis (Wetar)

Olive Straightbill. Timeliopsis fulvigula (New Guinea)

Tawny Straightbill. Timeliopsis griseigula (northwestern and southeastern New Guinea)

Long-billed Honeyeater. Melilestes megarhynchus (New Guinea, Aru Islands, western islands of Papua New Guinea)

Bougainville Honeyeater. Stresemannia bougainvillei (Bougainville Island)

White-streaked Honeyeater. Trichodere cockerelli (northeastern Australia)

Painted Honeyeater. Grantiella picta

Giant Honeyeater. Gymnomyza viridis

Mao. Gymnomyza samoensis

Crow Honeyeater. Gymnomyza aubryana

Crescent Honeyeater. Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera

New Holland Honeyeater. Phylidonyris novaehollandiae

White-cheeked Honeyeater. Phylidonyris nigra

White-fronted Honeyeater. Phylidonyris albifrons

Tawny-crowned Honeyeater. Phylidonyris melanops

Brown-backed Honeyeater. Ramsayornis modestus

Bar-breasted Honeyeater. Ramsayornis fasciatus

Rufous-banded Honeyeater. Conopophila albogularis

Rufous-throated Honeyeater. Conopophila rufogularis

Grey Honeyeater. Conopophila whitei

Eastern Spinebill. Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris

Western Spinebill. Acanthorhynchus superciliosus

Banded Honeyeater. Certhionyx pectoralis (northern Australia)

Black Honeyeater. Certhionyx niger (Australia)

Pied Honeyeater. Certhionyx variegatus (western central Australia)

Drab Myzomela. Myzomela blasii (southern Moluccan Islands of Ceram and Ambon)

White-chinned Myzomela. Myzomela albigula (southeast Papua New Guinea)

Red-throated Myzomela. Myzomela eques (New Guinea and the islands of Waigeo, Salawati, Misool, New Britain, and Umboi)

Dusky Honeyeater. Myzomela obscura (northern Moluccas, New Guinea, Aru Islands, northern and northeastern Australia, and southwestern Lesser Sunda Islands)

Red Myzomela. Myzomela cruentata (New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago)

Black Myzomela. Myzomela nigrita (New Guinea, Aru Islands and Waigeo island)

Olive-yellow Myzomela. Myzomela pulchella (New Ireland and the eastern Bismarck Archipelago)

Mountain Myzomela.Myzomela adolphinae (New Guinea)

Crimson-hooded Myzomela. Myzomela kuehni (central Lesser Sunda Islands)

Sumba Myzomela. Myzomela dammermani (southwestern Lesser Sunda Islands)

Red-headed Honeyeater. Myzomela erythrocephala (southern New Guinea, Aru Islands, and northern Australia)

Sulawesi Myzomela. Myzomela chloroptera (Sulawesi and northern Moluccas)

Wakolo Myzomela. Myzomela wakoloensis (southern Moluccas)

Banda Myzomela. Myzomela boiei Lesser Sunda Islands, Banda Islands, and Tanimbar Islands)

Scarlet Honeyeater. Myzomela sanguinolenta (eastern Australia)

New Caledonian Myzomela. Myzomela caledonica (new Caledonia)

Micronesian Myzomela. Myzomela rubrata (Mariana Islands, Palau, and Caroline Islands)

Cardinal Honeyeater. Myzomela cardinalis (southeastern Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Samoa)

Rotuma Myzomela. Myzomela chermesina (northwestern Fiji)

Scarlet-bibbed Myzomela. Myzomela sclateri (small islands off northeast coast of New Guinea and New Britain)

Ebony Myzomela. Myzomela pammelaena (Bismarck Archipelago)

Scarlet-naped Myzomela. Myzomela lafargei (Solomon Islands)

Yellow-vented Myzomela. Myzomela eichhorni (central Solomon Islands)

Black-headed Myzomela. Myzomela melanocephala (Solomon Islands)

Red-bellied Myzomela. Myzomela malaitae (southeastern Solomon Islands)

Sooty Myzomela. Myzomela tristrami (southern Solomon Islands)

Orange-breasted Myzomela. Myzomela jugularis (Fiji)

Black-bellied Myzomela. Myzomela erythromelas (Bismarck Archipelago)

Red-rumped Myzomela. Myzomela vulnerata (Lesser Sunda Islands)

Red-collared Myzomela. Myzomela rosenbergi (New Guinea)

New Zealand Bellbird. Anthornis melanura

Tui. Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae

Crimson Chat. Epthianura tricolor

Orange Chat. Epthianura aurifrons

Yellow Chat. Epthianura crocea

White-fronted Chat. Epthianura albifrons

Gibberbird. Ashbyia lovensisFurther Information

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