White-eared Tailorbird

A tiny, short-billed sunbird with a metallic-green back and a yellow belly. The male has a green throat and a narrow purplish breast band; the female is duller, with a yellow throat and no breast band. Pairs frequent forest edge, woodland, and savanna, where they join mixed-species flocks to glean leaves and hover to catch insect prey. But they will also feed on fruit and nectar, often by piercing the base of a flower and sucking out nectar without pollinating. The “yellow-bellied” races of Variable Sunbird differ from Collared Sunbird by being larger, with a longer bill and broader purple-blue breast band.

Large heronlike bird, reminiscent of a gangly ibis but more closely related to rails. Brown with white spots and streaks, densest on the head and neck. Long yellowish bill is slightly decurved. Found in marshes or swamps, often with trees and shrubs, but also regularly seen at the edges of ponds in otherwise highly managed city parks. Feeds almost exclusively on apple snails. Usually single or in pairs. Distinctive voice is a loud, creaky wail, often heard as an eerie jungle sound effect in films.

A medium-sized olive-gray honeyeater with an oval pale yellow cheek patch and a brown eye. Can be confused with Lewin’s Honeyeater and Graceful Honeyeater, but note the shape of the cheek patch: oval on Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, crescent shaped on Lewin’s Honeyeater, and circular on Graceful Honeyeater. Adult Yellow-spotted Honeyeaters also have a brown eye while Lewin’s and Graceful Honeyeaters have a paler blue gray eye. Listen for the loud repeated whistle of the Yellow-spotted Honeyeater, compared to the rapid staccato machine-gun call of Lewin’s and the more simple, single note call of Graceful Honeyeater. One of three easily confusable species found in far northern Queensland. Common in many wetter habitats at low elevation in wetter parts of northern Queensland.