Black-chinned Honeyeater

Photo by Tom Tarrant
Petrie, south-eastern Queensland, August 2003

Photo by peterday
Sub-species Laetior
Standley Chasm, Alice Springs NT, Australia, July 2016

Melithreptus gularis

Includes: Golden-backed Honeyeater

Identification

17 cm

• Black cap
• White crescent around nape
• White throat with black centre line
• Crescent-shaped blue skin over the eye
• Dull olive-green back and wings
• Greyish-brown tail
• White underparts
• Greyish-buff breast
• Slightly downcurved bill is short and black

Distribution

Endemic to Australia: found in New South Wales, Queensland South Australia and Victoria.

Taxonomy

Subspecies^[1]

• M. g. laetior in northern Australia
• M. g. gularis in south-eastern Australia

Laetior is sometimes split as Golden-backed Honeyeater.

Habitat

Drier eucalypt forests; woodlands; timber on watercourses, often with no understorey; scrubs; ironbark forests.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes insects, nectar and honeydew.

Breeding

Breeding takes place from June to December. The compact, suspended, cup-shaped nest is placed high in the crown of a tree, in the uppermost lateral branches, hidden by foliage. The clutch consists of 2-3 eggs. Both adults (and occasionally helpers) feed the young.

Vocalisation

The call is a ringing, bubbling trill, repeated several times.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2009. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2009. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. Avibase
3. threatenedspecies.environment.nsw.gov.au
4. BF member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Black-chinned Honeyeater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 20 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-chinned_Honeyeater

External Links

Search for photos of Black-chinned Honeyeater in the gallery