Alternative Name: Streak-capped Honeyeater
- Pycnopygius stictocephalus
Identification
21 cm, 8.3 inches, two males 38 g and 39 g.
Adult
- Medium sized plain looking honeyeater
- Blackish-brown crown with fine, short dirty white to greyish streaks or speckles
- Dark brown side of head and neck, chin and upper throat
- Obvious light yellowish brown to dirty white malar stripe
- Dark brown upperparts
- Wing and tail slightly darker, but lightening with wear
- Yellowish brown lower throat and underparts
- Vivid yellowish brown underwing with dark grey trailing edge and tip
- Brown or reddish brown iris
- Small blackish brown or black, slightly decurved beak
- Some individuals have a purplish hue at base of lower mandible
- Dark grey legs
- Sexes alike, but male larger than female
Juvenile
- light yellowish brown underparts with grey tige on breast
- Light brown to pale reddish brown edges and tips to retrices
Immature
- Blackish crown with grey tinge or weak grey speckling merging to matt black on side of head
- Matt greyish black chin and throat
- Much weaker malar stripe
- Duller brown upper- and underparts when in fresh plumage
- Obvious reddish brown edge to upperwing coverts
- Retains juvenile wing and tail with more obvious light edges to rectrices
Distribution
Lowlands of New Guinea (Indonesia and Papua New Guinea), Salawati Island and Aru Islands
Taxonomy
Habitat
Found mainly at the forest edge, usually in disturbed and frequently open areas, including tall secondary growth and partially cleared forest, gallery vegetation in savanna, dense eucalyptus savanna woodland, swamp forest, monsoon woodland or scrub and gardens. Also seen in rubber plantations around Veimauri-Kuriva (southeast New Guinea), in primary lowland forest (in eastern Sepik District), primary hill forest (Ok Menga) and lower storeys of dense forest (at Manokwari). Up to 500 m, locally to 640–750 m (Ok Tedi area) and 1000 m (Adelbert Mountains)
Behaviour
Diet
Nectar, small fruits including figs and insects. Often gleans from foliage, but also probes flowers for nectar. Seen in upper branches of tall secondary growth, upper storey and canopy of lowland forest and lower storeys of primary forest.
Normally single, sometimes seen perching on top of dead branches, occasionally in twos, possibly pairs, or threes.
Known to chase away other species of similar or smaller size in flowering or fruiting trees, where competition for food overlaps, but ignores species that utilise other food sources, as well as larger species with a similar diet. Visual and vocal similarity to juvenile Helmeted Friarbird and Brown Oriole may allow it to forage in same trees as these other more belligerent species without being attacked.
Breeding
One active nest near Finschhafen in early September and another near Port Moresby in March that was abandoned 4–6 days later.
Nest a delicately woven bowl of fine stems, suspended by rim from fork in foliage. A nest near Port Moresby was a deep cup of dried material, with exteral latticework, appeared to be suspended by two edges under two large leaves, nests are between 8 and 12 m above ground. No other information.
Vocalisation
Distinctive, loud and melodious. Frequently mimics the “tudi-tudi-tuhííeuw” of Brown Oriole that lasts about 1 second, but mimicry weaker and higher pitched than original. Song is a “tickety-tickerty-tickerty-teeuw”, first and second last syllables alike, second a tone lower, final syllable a descending slur, and lasting about 3 seconds also sung in flight. Also an ebullient series of 3–12 fairly high pitched notes, “wchw-wchw-wchw…”, about 4 notes per second, at intervals of a few seconds and a fluid “wheeta wheeta where” or “whita-tee whita-teer” repeated at intervals of about 2 seconds. A subdued “weut-teuk … weut” heard at Manokwari, in Vogelkop is also thought to be a song. Squeaking notes heard at nest on arrival of second bird, but not known if calls were from unseen young or by one or both adults.
Movement
Little known. Resident at Moroka in southeastern New Guinea. Some evidence of at least local movements, thought to be associated with flowering. Sharp increase in numbers during mid-1978 in the Veimauri area, where they were absent earlier in year. Common throughout the wet season but absent in the dry season around Veimauri-Kuriva . Vagrant at Brown River.
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 January 2016)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Streak-headed Honeyeater. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 13 May 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Streak-headed_Honeyeater
