White-gaped Honeyeater

Stomiopera unicolor

A medium to large honeyeater with a sooty brown plumage and a bright pale patch between its eye and bill. Much larger than the similarly colored Dusky Honeyeater. This species is abundant across the drier tropical areas of northern Australia, including gardens, mangroves, and savanna.

Identification

The white-gaped honeyeater (Stomiopera unicolor) is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. The white-gaped honeyeater was previously placed in the genus Lichenostomus, but was moved to Stomiopera after a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2011 showed that the original genus was polyphyletic.

Taxonomy

Genus: Stomiopera; Family: Meliphagidae; Order: Passeriformes.

Scientific name
Stomiopera unicolor
Authority
(Gould, 1843)
Order
Passeriformes
Family
Meliphagidae
Genus
Stomiopera

Range and habitat

Migration
Resident species

Behavior

Migration pattern: Resident species.

Conservation

Population trend: stable.

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

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Thamnophilus pelzelni

Small antshrike found in the lower and middle levels of dry forests and at the edge of humid forests. Males are gray overall with a black crown, and white-spotted black wings and tail. Females have a rusty crown, back, and tail, are buff below with white spots on the wings. The song is a loud and long series of around 20 descending notes that accelerate in pace. Doesn’t overlap in range with similar Sooretama Slaty-Antshrike and is told from Variable Antshrike by paler gray plumage in males and richer rufous color in females.

Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush

Rufous-crowned Laughingthrush

Pterorhinus ruficeps

Large songbird, brown above, white below, with orange crown, dark mask, and snow-white throat. Inhabits montane forests, though it frequently descends into foothills and lowlands during the winter. Moves about through low and mid-level vegetation in large flocks. Vocalizes frequently, if not always loudly; commonly heard giving a rattling chatter or a quiet, hiccuping pair of notes.

Black-bellied Bustard

Black-bellied Bustard

Lissotis melanogaster

A lithe, medium-sized bustard with black daubs on a mostly tan-colored back. The male has a black belly, neck stripe, throat, and face patch. The female is uniform buff-brown from the belly to the head. In flight, both sexes have white windows in the wings. Singles and pairs inhabit tall grassland and grassy savanna. Its strange display involves the male stretching his neck and making a frog-like “kwoork” croak, and as he retracts his head to the shoulders, follows with a “grrrr” growl and champagne-cork-like “pop” while his head lifts again. He also performs an aerial display with the wings held back rigidly and with a puffed throat exposed.

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