Lewin's Honeyeater
Meliphaga lewinii
A medium-sized olive-gray honeyeater with a pale yellow cheek patch and a relatively stout bill. Cheek patch is often a crescent compared to the circular patch on Graceful Honeyeater and the oval path on Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. Adults have a bluish eye, while the similar Graceful Honeyeater has a blue-gray eye and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater has a brown eye. Listen for the rapid staccato machine-gun call of Lewin’s compared to the loud repeated whistles of the Yellow-spotted Honeyeater and the more simple, single note call of Graceful Honeyeater. Of the three easily confusable species, this is the only one found away from the tropics; it occurs in wetter forests and gardens all along the eastern coast of Australia.
Identification
The Lewin's honeyeater is small to medium in size 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in). It is dark greenish-grey in colour, with a creamy yellow gape (i.e., the fleshy corners of the mouth). It has large, yellowish, crescent-shaped ear-patches, which distinguish it from other honeyeaters, apart from two similar, but smaller, species in tropical Queensland. In flight, the pale yellow edges of the flight feathers can be seen. The bill is black and the eye is blue-grey. Both sexes are similar in appearance. Young Lewin's honeyeaters are similar to the adults, but have brown eyes. The strong 'machine gun-like' rattling notes of Lewin's honeyeater are heard over long distances, and reveal its presence in an area.<p>Body size, voice, and the shape and size of the ear-patch help in identifying the similar Graceful and Yellow-spotted Honeyeaters in tropical Queensland.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Meliphaga lewinii
- Authority
- (Swainson, 1837)
- Order
- Passeriformes
- Family
- Meliphagidae
- Genus
- Meliphaga
Range and habitat
The Lewin's honeyeater prefers the wetter parts of eastern Australia, from northern Queensland to central Victoria. It is found in both rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest, and often wanders into more open woodland. It is a common bird, and its call is often heard in these areas. It is a rather sedentary species, tending to stay in the same area all year round, although some altitudinal migration, to lower elevations in the cooler winter months, occurs.
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Cinclodes albiventris
Fairly common in the high Andes, where found at bogs, lakeshores, along streams, in agricultural areas of villages, usually near water. Feeds on the ground with a hopping and shuffling gait, sometimes cocking tail. Often in same areas as similar but larger and less numerous White-winged Cinclodes. Cream-winged is distinguished by duller brown (less rusty) upperparts, pale buffy tail corners (bold white on White-winged), and narrower white wing stripe shown in raised wing song display.
Spotless Crake
Zapornia tabuensis
Small dark crake with red eye and red orbital ring. Upperparts dark brown, underparts blue-gray, with red legs and short black bill. Inhabits wetlands where there is dense vegetation surrounding the water. Quite skittish and often difficult to observe. A wide variety of calls include a slow, repeated "kek" and a bubbling, accelerating "motorboat" call.
Blue-throated Goldentail
Chlorestes eliciae
Uncommon and local, rather small hummingbird of humid forest edge, plantations, and woodlands in tropical lowlands and foothills. Perches and feeds mainly at middle to upper levels in shady understory and at edges. Note the bright red bill and greenish-gold tail (which often looks grayish). Male has violet gorget. Female has violet throat spotting, but often these areas look rather dull and grayish unless they catch the light.
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