Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

Identification

The spiny-cheeked honeyeater, Acanthagenys rufogularis, is a medium-sized bird, ranging from 22 to 27 centimeters (8.7 to 10.6 inches) in length. Its crown is speckled, dark grey on brown plumage. The juvenile bird has a characteristic yellow cheek sash, although this is less pronounced in the adult bird, where predominantly the cheek is white with a grey and/or brown streak under the cheek.<p>Its beak is long and straight with a black tip and a fleshy red or pink colour towards the chin and up to the gape. The characteristic face pattern includes a long, dark stripe through the eyes to the ear coverts. The breast is creamy-white with short, browny streaks. The throat is often a light brown or cinnamon, sometimes extending from the beak to the upper breast. The wing feathers are a mottled, dark olive-brown to grey with white edges. The tail has similar colouring, but the tips of the tail-feathers are white. The under-tail coverts are white or, on some birds, light grey, and often streaked.<p>There seems to be an amount of variability in the appearance of many birds in this species. One example is on the Mornington Peninsula, located on the eastern coast of Port Phillip Bay in Victoria, where the spiny-cheeked honeyeaters have darker bellies. The juvenile birds of the species have a brown iris, and the facial skin is paler on the beak.

Taxonomy

The spiny-cheeked honeyeater's scientific name is Acanthagenys rufogularis. The generic name Acanthagenys derives from the Ancient Greek akantha 'spine, thorn' and genys 'cheek'; the specific epithet derives from Latin rufus 'red' and gula 'throat'.<p>The species is endemic to Australia and has two known races: Acanthagenys rufogularis parkeri, recognised by K. C. Parkes in 1980, and A. r. rufogularis, recognised by John Gould in 1838.

Scientific name

Acanthagenys rufogularis

Authority

Gould, 1838

Order

Passeriformes

Family

Meliphagidae

Genus

Acanthagenys

Range and habitat

The spiny-cheeked honeyeater can be found in most locations throughout Australia, except east of the Great Dividing Range, Tasmania, the far south-west of Western Australia, and the northern Australian tropics. However, the birds do occur on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.<p>Most sightings have been in sparse, woody tree environments. Almost as many sightings have been in sparse, hummock grass environments, which includes beach spinifex and porcupine grass. These grasses are mostly found in arid and semi-arid parts of outback Australia. In these areas, there are occasional small shrubs or trees (mostly Acacia species), where the birds may find refuge.<p>Other habitats include scattered woodland, open woodlands, sparse shrubland, and closed shrubland.<p>The birds can also be found in managed and cultivated vegetated land and pasture lands, consisting of a range of grasses, including sedges, rushes, arrow grasses, and quillworts.<p>In coastal regions, such as the Mornington Peninsula, the birds can be found in tea tree environments along the foreshore.<p>The birds may occasionally be found in mangroves and orchards.<p>They are considered a nomadic species; however, this seems to be more so in the northern parts of Australia. In the south, they tend to stay in local areas, and are considered to be resident. They are a common species across their range in the continent of Australia.

Migration

Resident species

Behavior

The ecology of the spiny-cheeked honeyeater would be similar to that of many honeyeaters. Honeyeaters that have diets of nectar, insects, and fruit can provide several services for the bushland they inhabit.<p>As a nectar feeder, they have a role in pollination. The pollination activities would specialise in the production of fruit that the bird would feed on in the summer, when the fruit is ripe.<p>After feeding on the ripened fruit, the birds would provide a service of seed dispersal, which ensures the food source for this and other species over a widening territory. It also precludes the seed from other species that have primary diets consisting of seeds.<p>In addition, it was found that the bird's ability to disperse seed comes with a high probability that the seed dispersed will germinate.<p>As an insectivore, its ability to control insects may be limited; however, reviews of studies have shown that the removal of bird species has increased insect herbivore activity, and increased crop damage.

Conservation

Population trend

declining