Fuscous Honeyeater
Ptilotula fusca
Small, plain honeyeater; almost entirely a bland, unmarked, olive-brown with subtle yellow patch on the neck. Adult’s bill is entirely black, whereas juvenile has yellow base to bill plus a yellow eyering. Typically found in dry eucalypt forest; tends to move down from higher altitudes in the winter months. Found in eastern Australia.
Identification
The fuscous honeyeater is dull grey-brown to olive-brown above with buffy-grey underparts. The bill is black and the eye-ring dark. It has a small black and yellow plume formed by the rear edge of the ear coverts.<p>Similar species include grey-fronted honeyeater, yellow-plumed honeyeater and white-plumed honeyeater.<p>They have numerous calls, notably a distinctive rollicking arig arig a taw taw, a clear flutey cheer tor cheer and an incessant chip contact call.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Ptilotula fusca
- Authority
- (Gould, 1837)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Ptilotula
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Fuscous honeyeaters live in colonies in dry eucalypt forest and woodland, mostly inland of the Great Dividing Range, but in New South Wales and Queensland also in coastal heathy forest. They are sometimes also found in gardens, and in patches of remnant forest on farms.<p>They are mostly sedentary, though will make some nomadic movements in response to drought and flowering of eucalypts. In the southeast of their range, they make some seasonal altitudinal movements, moving down from higher regions in during colder months.<p>Fuscous honeyeaters are mainly insectivorous, foraging actively mainly in outer and upper foliage, branches and trunks of eucalypts, and taking insects on the wing. They also feed opportunistically on nectar, including from eucalypts and mistletoes, lerp and honeydew.
Conservation
The species is listed under the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species as a species of Least Concern.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Short-tailed Antthrush
Chamaeza campanisona
Plump terrestrial bird with a short cocked-tail and long legs. Walks quietly on the ground in humid forests where its shy nature and cryptic plumage make it difficult to spot. Olive-brown above with a prominent, but short white eyebrow and buffy streaking below. Several different subspecies occur throughout South America with variable patterning on the breast. The song is a melodious series of soft notes varying in length between subspecies and mostly given while perched above the ground.
Speckle-faced Parrot
Pionus tumultuosus
A fairly scarce but widespread Andean parrot, occurring from western Venezuela to Bolivia. This parrot has a plain green body with red undertail coverts and yellowish bill. Head color varies from slaty blue to bright pinkish-maroon with variable amounts of white speckling, sometimes looking like it was dusted with thick snow. Pairs or small flocks occur in montane forest, typically from around 2,000 m up to treeline. This is higher on average than other montane Pionus parrots like Red-billed, although there is some overlap. Often seen flying overhead, where the deep wingbeats eliminate other genera of parrots (like Scaly-naped Parrot, which has shallower wingbeats typical of Amazona parrots).
Gray-crowned Flatbill
Tolmomyias poliocephalus
Small, stocky flycatcher with broad, flat bill. Occupies canopy and midstory of forest edges, gardens, and tall second growth in humid lowlands. Has gray crown, pale yellow underparts, and yellow edgings to wing feathers (but not wingbars). Very similar to a few other species of flycatchers, particularly Yellow-margined and Yellow-olive Flycatchers; best distinguishing features include its pale eye, lack of a yellow patch at the base of the primaries, and voice. Call is a loud, quickly rising whistle: “tuee?”, higher and cleaner than similar calls from species like Brownish Twistwing and Blue-backed Manakin, but not as high as the “twee-twee” of Purple-throated Euphonia.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.