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Black Honeyeater - BirdForum Opus

(Redirected from Certhionyx niger)
Male
Photo by davidfree
Walga Rock, Western Australia, September 2011
Sugomel nigrum

Certhionyx niger

Identification

Female
Photo by woom
Boat Rock, New South Wales, September 2017

10–13 cm (4-5 in)
Male

  • Black head, neck, wings and upperparts
  • White underbody, apart from a vertical black stripe through centre of chest
  • Long slender down-curved bill

Female

  • Brown head and upper body
  • Pale eye-stripe
  • Freckled grey-brown chest which fades into a white abdomen.

Distribution

Arid central Australia, to coasts in central Western Australia

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Habitat

Open woodlands and shrublands of arid and semi-arid regions.

Behaviour

Diet

The diet includes insects and nectar, especially eucalypts, mistletoe and the Emu-bush, Eremophila.

Breeding

Juvenile
Photo by davidfree
Walga Rock, Western Australia, September 2011

The nest is built by the female. It consists of a shallow open cup formed from twigs and grasses. It is bound together with spiders web. It is lined with soft materials such as horse hair and wool. The female incubates the eggs, with both adults caring for the young.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Birds in Backyards

Recommended Citation

External Links

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