Alternative Names: Large-tufted Honeyeater, Large-tufted Meliphaga, Puff backed Honeyeater, (not to be confused with Glycichaera fallax), Puff-backed Meliphaga
- Meliphaga aruensis
Identification
16.5–18.5 cm, 6.5-7.3 inches, male 27-30 g, female 23-27 g
- Large, stocky honeyeater with thick bunch of rigid feathers on rump.
- Dark green-brown to grey-green upperparts
- Crown more intense green than upperparts
- Black subterminal area on rump feathers
- Greenish-black lores
- Greenish-black feathers surrounding eye and diffuse eye stripe behind eye
- Brown to dark brown or grey brown iris
- Large lemon ear patch
- Deep yellow or orange yellow gape merging with obvious lemon rictal streak, which frequently reaches pale ear patch
- Dark brown upperwing coverts and alula with dark green fringes
- Dark brown remiges with yellow green outer edges and lemon inner edges
- Yellow brown underwing coverts
- Dark brown retrices with dark green outer edges
- Mainly grey underparts, pale green-yellow hue on chin to breast, blending into paler grey with yellow wash on lower belly, frequently has brown wash across upper breast
- Grey-black to black beak
- Grey or brownish-grey legs
- Sexes alike, male on average slightly larger
Distribution
Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
Taxonomy
There are 2 Subspecies recognised:[1]
- M. a. sharpei: Male 22–30.5 g,female 21–31 g, stretched ear patch, bright green upperparts, Batanta birds are darker grey-green above than mainland birds, Trans-Fly region birds have a rounder ear patch that doesn't connect with rictal streak
- West Papuan Islands of Waigeo, Batanta and Misool, northwest and northern mainland New Guinea east, including Yapen Island and Keboi Island, to at least Kumusi River, D’Entrecasteaux Archipelago, including Goodenough Island and Fergusson Island and Trobriand Island, including Kiriwani
- M. a. aruensis:
- South and southwest New Guinea, east to Karema and Hall Sound and Aru Islands
Habitat
Primary rainforest, low plains forest, disturbed habitats e.g. forest edge, secondary forest and tall or old regrowth, maybe gardens. Usually found in lowlands and foothills, from sea-level to about 1250 m, locally to 1400 m (e.g. Epe Valley), one recorded at 1580 m in Wahgi Valley. Recorded up to 450 m on Batanta.
Behaviour
Diet
Fruit, seeds and arthropods (mainly insects); probably also nectar, known to visit inflorescences of Poikilospermum and Syzygium. Usually forages in understorey, lower middle storey and substages of forest, mainly by gleaning. Shy, and normally single or in pairs, sometimes found in mixed flocks. Once caught with Graceful Honeyeater and Mimic Honeyeater in the same mist net in Varirata National Park.
Breeding
Has been recorded in most months with eggs in mid August and October and nestlings from mid October. Nests or breeding females seen in late July and August, October–January, March–April (ready to lay egg) and May. Nest is a tidy cup shape made from dead leaves, grass, grass-like stems, and fine plant fibres or bark flakes, held together with spider webs and plant fibres, heavily lined with thin grass-like stems, fibres or small roots, sometimes untidily covered on outside with dead leaves, one was 8 cm in diameter and 8 cm deep, the internal diameter was 4,5 cm, with a depth of 4 cm. The nest is suspended 0.3–1.2 m above ground in a horizontal fork or branches of shrubs and saplings. 1–2 eggs, female incubation only, chicks fed by both sexes.
Vocalisation
Song a fast upward and slowing trill lasting up to 2 seconds, repeated several times, similar to call of Yellow-billed Kingfisher, also piping series of short, fluid, upslurred notes, “lip, lip-ki-ki-ki-ki…” like that of other Meliphaga in New Guinea, other calls include short “chup” or “chap”, and deep whistle like call of Spot-winged Monarch.
Movement
Thought to be sedentary with some local movement
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2015. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2015, with updates to August 2015. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Avibase
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2015)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Puff-backed Honeyeater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 26 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Puff-backed_Honeyeater
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
