Honeyeater

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Honeyeaters
Eastern Spinebill, Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Passeriformes Suborder: Passeri Family: Meliphagidae Vigors, 1825
Genera[4]
Acanthagenys Acanthorhynchus Anthochaera Anthornis Ashbyia Certhionyx[1] Chaetoptila† Conopophila Entomyzon Epthianura Foulehaio Glycichaera Grantiella Guadalcanaria Gymnomyza Lichenostomus Lichmera Macgregoria Manorina Melidectes Melilestes Meliphaga Melipotes Melithreptus Melitograis Moho† Myza Myzomela Oreornis Philemon Phylidonyris[2] Plectorhyncha Prosthemadera Ptiloprora Pycnopygius Ramsayornis Stresemannia Timeliopsis Trichodere Xanthomyza[3] Xanthotis

The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Hawaii, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea. Bali, on the other side of the Wallace Line, has a single species.

Honeyeaters and the Australian chats make up the family Meliphagidae. In total there are 182 species in 42 genera, roughly half of them native to Australia, many of the remainder occupying New Guinea. With their closest relatives, the Maluridae (Australian fairy-wrens), Pardalotidae (pardalotes), and Acanthizidae (thornbills, Australian warblers, scrubwrens, etc) they comprise the superfamily Meliphagoidea and originated early in the evolutionary history of the oscine passerine radiation.^[5]

Although honeyeaters look and behave very much like other nectar-feeding passerines around the world (such as the sunbirds and flowerpeckers), they are unrelated, and the similarities are the consequence of convergent evolution.

Unlike the hummingbirds of America, honeyeaters do not have extensive adaptations for hovering flight, though smaller members of the family do hover hummingbird-style to collect nectar from time to time. In general, honeyeaters prefer to flit quickly from perch to perch in the outer foliage, stretching up or sideways or hanging upside down at need. Many genera have a highly developed brush-tipped tongue, longer in some species than others, frayed and fringed with bristles which soak up liquids readily. The tongue is flicked rapidly and repeatedly into a flower, the upper mandible then compressing any liquid out when the bill is closed.

The extent of the evolutionary partnership between honeyeaters and Australasian flowering plants is unknown, but probably substantial. A great many Australian plants are fertilised by honeyeaters, particularly the Proteacae, Myrtaceae, and Epacridacae. It is known that the honeyeaters are important in New Zealand as well, and assumed that the same applies in other areas.

In addition to nectar, all or nearly all honeyeaters take insects and other small creatures, usually by hawking, sometimes by gleaning. A few of the larger species, notably the White-eared Honeyeater, and the Strong-billed Honeyeater of Tasmania, probe under bark for insects and other morsels. Many species supplement their diets with a little fruit, and a small number eat considerable amounts of fruit, particularly in tropical rainforests and, oddly, in semi-arid scrubland. The Painted Honeyeater is a mistletoe specialist. Most, however, exist on a diet of nectar supplemented by varing quantities of insects. In general, the honeyeaters with long, fine bills are more nectarivous, the shorter-billed species less so, but even specialised nectar eaters like the spinebills take extra insects to add protein to their diet when they are breeding.

The movements of honeyeaters are poorly understood. Most are at least partially mobile but many movements seem to be local, possibly between favourite haunts as the conditions change. Fluctuations in local abundance are common, but the small number of definitely migratory honeyeater species aside, the reasons are yet to be discovered. Many follow the flowering of favourite food plants. Arid zone species appear to travel further and less predictably than those of the more fertile areas. It seems probable that no single explanation will emerge: the general rule for honeyeater movements is that there is no general rule.

The genus Apalopteron (Bonin Honeyeater), formerly treated in the Meliphagidae, has recently been transferred to the Zosteropidae on genetic evidence. The genus Notiomystis (New Zealand Stitchbird), formerly classified in the Meliphagidae, has recently been removed to the newly-erected Notiomystidae of which it is the only member. ^[6] The "Macgregor's bird-of-paradise," historically considered a bird of paradise (Paradisaeidae), was recently found to be a honeyeater.^[7] It is now known as "Macgregor's Giant Honeyeater" and is classified in the Meliphagidae.

A new taxon of honeyeater, not yet described but apparently close to the Smoky Honeyeater, has been discovered in December 2005 in the Foja Mountains of Papua, Indonesia.[1]

[edit] Species of Meliphagidae (Part of the Meliphagoidea superfamily)^[8]

OBS: The list is partial, with most non-Australian members missing.

• Red Wattlebird. Anthochaera carunculata
• Yellow Wattlebird. Anthochaera paradoxa
• Little Wattlebird. Anthochaera chrysoptera
• Western Wattlebird. Anthochaera lunulata
• Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater. Acanthagenys rufogularis
• Striped Honeyeater. Plectorhyncha lanceolata
• Helmeted Friarbird. Philemon buceroides
• Silver-crowned Friarbird. Philemon argenticeps
• Noisy Friarbird. Philemon corniculatus
• Little Friarbird. Philemon citreogularis
• Regent Honeyeater. Xanthomyza phrygia
• Blue-faced Honeyeater. Entomyzon cyanotis
• Bell Miner. Manorina melanophrys
• Noisy Miner. Manorina melanocephala
• Yellow-throated Miner. Manorina flavigula
• Black-eared Miner. Manorina melanotis
• Macleay's Honeyeater. Xanthotis macleayana
• Tawny-breasted Honeyeater. Xanthotis flaviventer
• Lewin's Honeyeater. Meliphaga lewinii
• Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. Meliphaga notata
• Graceful Honeyeater. Meliphaga gracilis
• White-lined Honeyeater. Meliphaga albilineata
• Bridled Honeyeater. Lichenostomus frenatus
• Eungella Honeyeater. Lichenostomus hindwoodi
• Yellow-faced Honeyeater. Lichenostomus chrysops
• Singing Honeyeater. Lichenostomus virescens
• Varied Honeyeater. Lichenostomus versicolor
• Mangrove Honeyeater. Lichenostomus fasciogularis
• White-gaped Honeyeater. Lichenostomus unicolor
• Yellow Honeyeater. Lichenostomus flavus
• White-eared Honeyeater. Lichenostomus leucotis
• Yellow-throated Honeyeater. Lichenostomus flavicollis
• Yellow-tufted Honeyeater. Lichenostomus melanops
• Purple-gaped Honeyeater. Lichenostomus cratitius
• Grey-headed Honeyeater. Lichenostomus keartlandi
• Yellow-plumed Honeyeater. Lichenostomus ornatus
• Grey-fronted Honeyeater. Lichenostomus plumulus
• Fuscous Honeyeater. Lichenostomus fuscus
• Yellow-tinted Honeyeater. Lichenostomus flavescens
• White-plumed Honeyeater. Lichenostomus penicillatus
• Smoky Honeyeater. Melipotes fumigatus
• Black-chinned Honeyeater. Melithreptus gularis
• Strong-billed Honeyeater. Melithreptus validirostris
• Brown-headed Honeyeater. Melithreptus brevirostris
• White-throated Honeyeater. Melithreptus albogularis
• White-naped Honeyeater. Melithreptus lunatus
• Black-headed Honeyeater. Melithreptus affinis
• Macgregor's Giant Honeyeater. Macgregoria pulchra

• Green-backed Honeyeater. Glycichaera fallax (Aru Islands, Waigeo and Misool island, New Guinea, northeastern Australia)
• Scaly-crowned Honeyeater. Lichmera lombokia (west-central Lesser Sunda Islands)
• Olive Honeyeater. Lichmera argentauris (Moluccas and western islands of Papua New Guinea)
• Indonesian Honeyeater. Lichmera limbata (Lesser Sunda Islands)
• Brown Honeyeater. Lichmera indistincta (Aru Islands, central-southern New Guinea, Australia)
• Dark-brown Honeyeater. Lichmera incana (New Caledonia, Loyalty Islands, and Vanuatu)
• White-tufted Honeyeater. Lichmera squamata (Lesser Sunda Islands and Kai Island)
• Silver-eared Honeyeater. Lichmera alboauricularis (north-central and southeastern New Guinea)
• Buru Honeyeater. Lichmera deningeri (Buru)
• Seram Honeyeater. Lichmera monticola (Seram)
• Yellow-eared Honeyeater. Lichmera flavicans (Timor)
• Black-chested Honeyeater. Lichmera notabilis (Wetar)
• Olive Straightbill. Timeliopsis fulvigula (New Guinea)
• Tawny Straightbill. Timeliopsis griseigula (northwestern and southeastern New Guinea)
• Long-billed Honeyeater. Melilestes megarhynchus (New Guinea, Aru Islands, western islands of Papua New Guinea)
• Bougainville Honeyeater. Stresemannia bougainvillei (Bougainville Island)
• White-streaked Honeyeater. Trichodere cockerelli (northeastern Australia)

• Painted Honeyeater. Grantiella picta
• Giant Honeyeater. Gymnomyza viridis
• Mao. Gymnomyza samoensis
• Crow Honeyeater. Gymnomyza aubryana
• Crescent Honeyeater. Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera
• New Holland Honeyeater. Phylidonyris novaehollandiae
• White-cheeked Honeyeater. Phylidonyris nigra
• White-fronted Honeyeater. Phylidonyris albifrons
• Tawny-crowned Honeyeater. Phylidonyris melanops
• Brown-backed Honeyeater. Ramsayornis modestus
• Bar-breasted Honeyeater. Ramsayornis fasciatus
• Rufous-banded Honeyeater. Conopophila albogularis
• Rufous-throated Honeyeater. Conopophila rufogularis
• Grey Honeyeater. Conopophila whitei
• Eastern Spinebill. Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
• Western Spinebill. Acanthorhynchus superciliosus
• Banded Honeyeater. Certhionyx pectoralis (northern Australia)^[9]
• Black Honeyeater. Certhionyx niger (Australia)^[10]
• Pied Honeyeater. Certhionyx variegatus (western central Australia)
• Drab Myzomela. Myzomela blasii (southern Moluccan Islands of Ceram and Ambon)
• White-chinned Myzomela. Myzomela albigula (southeast Papua New Guinea)
• Red-throated Myzomela. Myzomela eques (New Guinea and the islands of Waigeo, Salawati, Misool, New Britain, and Umboi)
• Dusky Honeyeater. Myzomela obscura (northern Moluccas, New Guinea, Aru Islands, northern and northeastern Australia, and southwestern Lesser Sunda Islands)
• Red Myzomela. Myzomela cruentata (New Guinea and the Bismarck Archipelago)
• Black Myzomela. Myzomela nigrita (New Guinea, Aru Islands and Waigeo island)
• Olive-yellow Myzomela. Myzomela pulchella (New Ireland and the eastern Bismarck Archipelago)
• Mountain Myzomela.Myzomela adolphinae (New Guinea)
• Crimson-hooded Myzomela. Myzomela kuehni (central Lesser Sunda Islands)
• Sumba Myzomela. Myzomela dammermani (southwestern Lesser Sunda Islands)
• Red-headed Honeyeater. Myzomela erythrocephala (southern New Guinea, Aru Islands, and northern Australia)
• Sulawesi Myzomela. Myzomela chloroptera (Sulawesi and northern Moluccas)
• Wakolo Myzomela. Myzomela wakoloensis (southern Moluccas)
• Banda Myzomela. Myzomela boiei Lesser Sunda Islands, Banda Islands, and Tanimbar Islands)
• Scarlet Honeyeater. Myzomela sanguinolenta (eastern Australia)
• New Caledonian Myzomela. Myzomela caledonica (new Caledonia)
• Micronesian Myzomela. Myzomela rubrata (Mariana Islands, Palau, and Caroline Islands)
• Cardinal Honeyeater. Myzomela cardinalis (southeastern Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and Samoa)
• Rotuma Myzomela. Myzomela chermesina (northwestern Fiji)
• Scarlet-bibbed Myzomela. Myzomela sclateri (small islands off northeast coast of New Guinea and New Britain)
• Ebony Myzomela. Myzomela pammelaena (Bismarck Archipelago)
• Scarlet-naped Myzomela. Myzomela lafargei (Solomon Islands)
• Yellow-vented Myzomela. Myzomela eichhorni (central Solomon Islands)
• Black-headed Myzomela. Myzomela melanocephala (Solomon Islands)
• Red-bellied Myzomela. Myzomela malaitae (southeastern Solomon Islands)
• Sooty Myzomela. Myzomela tristrami (southern Solomon Islands)
• Orange-breasted Myzomela. Myzomela jugularis (Fiji)
• Black-bellied Myzomela. Myzomela erythromelas (Bismarck Archipelago)
• Red-rumped Myzomela. Myzomela vulnerata (Lesser Sunda Islands)
• Red-collared Myzomela. Myzomela rosenbergi (New Guinea)
• New Zealand Bellbird. Anthornis melanura
• Tui. Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae
• Crimson Chat. Epthianura tricolor
• Orange Chat. Epthianura aurifrons
• Yellow Chat. Epthianura crocea
• White-fronted Chat. Epthianura albifrons
• Gibberbird. Ashbyia lovensis

[edit] References

1. ^ Recent molecular phylogenetic work by Driskell & Christidis 2004, indicates this genus is non-monophyletic and will undergo taxonomic revision in the near future.
2. ^ Recent molecular phylogenetic work by Driskell & Christidis 2004, indicates this genus is non-monophyletic and will undergo taxonomic revision in the near future.
3. ^ Recent molecular phylogenetic work by Driskell & Christidis 2004, indicates Xanthomyza phrygia is contained within the genus Anthochaera and this species will be listed as Anthochaera phrygia in the next species list of Australian birds (L. Christids, pers. comm.)
4. ^ as listed in Sibley & Monroe 1990
5. ^ Barker et al. 2004
6. ^ Driskell et al. 2007
7. ^ Cracraft & Feinstein 2000
8. ^ from Christidis & Boles 1994, and Sibley & Monroe 1990
9. ^ based on molecular evidence, will be reclassified into the genus Cissomela
10. ^ based on molecular evidence, will be reclassified into the genus Sugomel

• Barker, F.K., Cibois, A., Schikler, P., Feinstein, J., and Cracraft, J. (2004). Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation. Proceedings Natl. Acad. Sci., USA 101 11040-11045.
• Christidis, L. and Boles, W.E. (1994). The Taxonomy and Species of Birds of Australia and its Territories. Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union Monograph 2. Melbourne: RAOU. ISBN 1875122060.
• Cracraft, J. and Feinstein, J. (2000). What is not a bird of paradise? Molecular and morphological evidence places Macgregoria in the Meliphagidae and the Cnemophilinae near the base of the corvoid tree. Proc. Roy. Soc. London, B 267 233-241.
• Del Hoyo, J., Elliot, A. and Christie D. (editors). (2006). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 12: Picathartes to Tits and Chickadees. Lynx Edicions. ISBN 9788496553422 (Epthianura and Ashbyia only)
• Driskell, A.C. and Christidis, L. (2004). Phylogeny and evolution of the Australo-Papuan honeyeaters (Passeriformes, Meliphagidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 31 943–960.
• Driskell, A.C., Christidis, L., Gill, B., Boles, W.E., Barker, F.K., and Longmore, N.W. (2007). A new endemic family of New Zealand passerine birds: adding heat to a biodiversity hotspot. Australian Journal of Zoology 55 1-6.
• Sibley, C.G. and Monroe, B.L. Jr. (1990). Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. New Haven: Yale University Press. ISBN 0300049692.

[edit] External links

• Honeyeater videos on the Internet Bird Collection
• Meliphagoidea - Highlighting relationships of Maluridae on Tree Of Life Web Project