White-eared Honeyeater
Nesoptilotis leucotis
Medium-sized, olive-brown honeyeater with distinctive white “ears”. Adult has gray crown, black face extending down to upper breast, and clear white patch behind the eye. Juvenile lacks gray crown and black coloration on face and upper breast. Found in a wide range of habitats where trees are present, but typically found in dry eucalypt forests and woodlands. Mainly feeds on insects (often seen foraging in loose bark) but also eats nectar when present.
Identification
The white-eared honeyeater has an olive-green upper and lower body; its wings and tail are a mix of brown, yellow and olive; the crown is dark grey with black streaks; its cheeks and throat are black; its ear-coverts are white. Its iris is red or brown (juvenile); its bill is black and its legs are dark grey. The white-eared honeyeater is a medium-sized honeyeater 19–22 centimetres (7.5–8.7 in) in length. There is no sexual dimorphism, with males and females looking alike. They weigh approximately 20 g (0.71 oz) and have a beak length of approximately 17 mm (0.67 in).<p>Their voice is deep and mellow but slightly metallic chwok, chwok, chwok-whit and kwitchu, kwitchu; very sharply scratchy, metallic chwik!.
Taxonomy
The white-eared honeyeater was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 as Turdus leucotis. It has been reclassified several times and was previously named Lichenostomus leucotis and Ptilotis leucotis torringtoni.<p>The white-eared honeyeater was previously placed in the genus Lichenostomus, but it was moved to Nesoptilotis after a molecular phylogenetic analysis, published in 2011, showed that the original genus was polyphyletic. It is a sister taxon to the yellow-throated honeyeater (N. flavicollis) that occurs in Tasmania, and they belong to a clade that contains the genera Entomyzon, Melithreptus, and Foulehaio.<p>There are two recognised subspecies: the nominate subspecies Nesoptilotis leucotis leucotis is found from eastern central Queensland through New South Wales and Victoria to southeastern South Australia; the subspecies N. l. novaenorciae is found in southwestern Western Australia and the Eyre Peninsula of South Australia.
- Scientific name
- Nesoptilotis leucotis
- Authority
- (Latham, 1801)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Nesoptilotis
Range and habitat
The white-eared honeyeater's preferred habitat is in forests, woodlands, heathlands, mallee and dry inland scrublands. A eucalyptus canopy, rough bark and a shrub layer are the most important requirements for white-eared honeyeaters. The canopy can provide nectar in spring, the bark can provide insects year round, and the shrub layer is used for nesting and shelter. The white-eared honeyeater prefers mature vegetation with a dense understory. They are relatively unselective regarding habitat, both floristically and structurally, as they can be found in many different forest and woodland types, and either edge or interior habitats. White-eared honeyeaters can be found in small (< 2 ha) woodland patches. Habitats they do not like are those that are heavily degraded, recently burnt, or have little to no understory.<p>There are four recognised races of N. leucotis.Race leucotis is found in eastern Australia from Victoria to central Queensland. Proposals that this subspecies may, in fact, consist of two races, on either side of the Great Dividing Range, have recently been confirmed with the description of race schoddei from mallee woodland on the Eyre Peninsula, west to near the head of the Great Australian Bight, north-west through the Gawler Ranges and the Yellabinna region, at least to Maralinga. Evidence for this is that the populations on the eastern, coastal side of the Great Dividing Range have intense green upperparts, and are light greenish-yellow on the belly, whereas, populations in the western, inland side of the Great Dividing Range are a duller olive colour and become slightly smaller. The Nullarbor Plain separates this race from the race novaenorciae, which is found in Western Australia.The western race novaenorciae is categorised on the basis of size differences, being about 20% smaller than race leucotis. Both populations look very similar, but they have significant genetic differences. Populations of white-eared honeyeaters in Western Australia have significant genetic changes (2.23%) compared to eastern populations; however, there are no significant phenotypic changes.The fourth recognised race is thomasi, which is found on Kangaroo Island in South Australia.<p>Populations of white-eared honeyeaters found in arid regions and the Mallee, as well as all populations of race novaenorciae, do not need a shrub layer or understory in their habitat.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
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