Bridled Honeyeater
Bolemoreus frenatus
Medium-sized sooty gray honeyeater. The bright yellow base of the bill is a really obvious feature in an otherwise fairly uniformly dark gray bird. Bridled Honeyeater is found in rainforest in the higher elevations of the Wet Tropics in northern Queensland.
Identification
The bridled honeyeater is a medium to large dusky honeyeater with a white gape and bicoloured bill. It has a blue eye with a yellow line below and white line behind, a yellow tuft on ear and a large, white-grey patch on the side of the neck.
Taxonomy
The scientific name for the bridled honeyeater is Bolemoreus frenatus (Ramsay, 1874). Initially designated Ptilotis frenata Ramsay, E.P. 1874, then Lichenostomus frenatus and lastly Bolemoreus frenatus.<p>Both the bridled honeyeater and Eungella honeyeater were previously placed in the genus Lichenostomus, but were moved to Bolemoreus after a molecular phylogenetic analysis, published in 2011, showed that the original genus was not a natural unit. The bird belongs to the family Meliphagidae.<p>The Australian Museum holds syntypes for this species numbered AM O.18560 an adult female, AM O.18561 adult male and AM O.18562 adult female all found in the Cardwell area of Queensland.<p>The genus name, Bolemoreus, was created in 2011 and derives from "Boles and Longmore's bird" which honours Walter Boles and N. Wayne Longmore two Australian ornithologists. The species name, frenatus, was proposed by Ramsay from the Latin for bridle or reins referring to the markings on the face and base of bill.
- Scientific name
- Bolemoreus frenatus
- Authority
- (Ramsay, EP, 1874)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Bolemoreus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
The bridled honeyeater is found in upland rainforest and wet eucalypt forest above an altitude of 300 metres in the Atherton region, north-east Queensland, Australia. The range extends from the Bloomfield-Mt Amos area south to Mt Spec. Some birds move to lower altitude in Winter. The population is considered to be stable with no identified threats or declines. Population isn't quantified although it is considered common in some parts of its range.<p>When trees are fruiting or flowering the honeyeater may gather in large, quarrelsome flocks but they are otherwise solitary and elusive.
Conservation
- Population trend
- stable
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
White-crested Guan
Penelope pileata
Large guan. Has a dark brown back contrasting with rich rufous-chestnut underparts and neck. Note the broad white cap. Occurs in dense humid forest, where it mostly forages in trees but may descend to the ground.
Denham's Bustard
Neotis denhami
A large-to-medium-sized bustard with a chestnut nape and hind neck, and pale gray fore neck. The grayish head has distinct black-and-white crown stripes. Female and juvenile are smaller than male. Pairs and small groups march purposefully in grassland, wooded savanna, and fallow cereal fields, foraging on plants and small animals. It is a partial migrant, moving with the rains. The much larger Kori Bustard has a barred, grayish neck; Ludwig’s Bustard has a gray-brown fore neck, rather than pale gray fore neck of Denham’s Bustard.
Crimson Seedcracker
Pyrenestes sanguineus
A chunky-billed brown finch with an electric-red rump, red tail, and red hood that extends from the throat to the nape; the hood of the male is larger than the female’s and extends down the flanks. Juvenile is duller than the adult. A secretive and uncommon resident restricted to Upper Guinea, found in pairs in swamp forest, scrub near creeks, and thickets near water in primary and secondary forest; also sometimes in cultivation. Song is a variable series of buzzes and whistles, and call is a strident “tsut…tsut.” Male Black-bellied Seedcracker differs from Crimson by having a black (not brown) back and belly; females and juveniles are almost identical but only overlap in eastern Ivory Coast.
Start Your Bird Watching Journey
Identify a bird outdoors and keep the field guide close for your next observation.