Gray-fronted Honeyeater
Ptilotula plumula
Medium-sized honeyeater found in open woodlands across inland Australia. Olive brown above, yellowish with diffuse pale streaking below, with pay gray crown and cheek patch with black rear border that is then bordered in yellow. Very similar to Yellow-plumed Honeyeater, which has darker streaked gray underparts and a thinner, more curved yellow neck mark. Calls include rattling, rolling squeaks and a repeated loud piping.
Identification
The grey-fronted honeyeater is a small, plain honeyeater with a yellow neck plume bordered above by black. It has a small grey patch at the forehead, that may be obscure in northern subspecies. The crown is olive yellow and the lores blackish. The upper parts are olive grey and flight feathers yellow olive. Underparts are off white with indistinct stripes. The grey-fronted honeyeater can easily be confused with the yellow-tinted honeyeater as their ranges overlap and they are of similar size. Differences include the lores which are yellow grey and plumes that are narrower in the yellow-tinted honeyeater.
Taxonomy
Genus: Ptilotula; Family: Meliphagidae; Order: Passeriformes.
- Scientific name
- Ptilotula plumula
- Authority
- (Gould, 1841)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Ptilotula
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Acridotheres tristis
A large, black-and-brown myna with white wing patches, yellow bill, and yellow legs. Gregarious and often found in noisy flocks. Aggressive, often driving away other birds. Can be found just about anywhere but the densest forests. Native to southern Asia, where it is among the most common species. Widely introduced elsewhere in the world, including Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii.
Cape Starling
Lamprotornis nitens
A medium-sized iridescent blue-green glossy starling that lacks dark ear-patches and has greenish flanks and belly, giving it a more uniform appearance than the “blue-eared” starlings. Pairs and small groups occupy high-altitude grassland, Karoo, and savanna, including drier habitats than other glossy starlings. The species feeds on the ground and in trees on fruit and insects; often it scavenges from people. It gives a rolling “turrreaau” flight call and harsh “karrr” alarm notes. Similar “blue-eared” starlings differ from Cape Starling by being smaller and having blue-magenta flanks and belly that give them a less uniform appearance.
Masked Gnatcatcher
Polioptila dumicola
Bold patterned gnatcatcher usually found in the canopy of savanna, open woodlands, and forest edges where it may join mixed-species flocks. Largely grayish overall with a white-edged black tail. Males have a black mask while females have a small black ear patch on a generally pale face. Males of the subspecies from Northwest Brazil are whiter below and grayish in other populations.
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