Green-backed Honeyeater (Glycichaera fallax)

Other Names (World)
Green-backed Honeyeater, White-eyed Honeyeater (fallax), Puff-backed Honeyeater, Green-backed Straightbill, Grey-headed Honeyeater, Gray-headed Honeyeater, Pale-eyed Honeyeater (poliocephala)

Family
Meliphagidae (Honeyeaters)

Size
11 - 12 cm

First Described (Guide)
Salvadori, 1878

Derivation
Glyc-i-chaer'-a - Gk, glycys, sweet; Gk, chairein, to rejoice: fall'-ax - L., deceptive

Abundance (Guide)
MC

Moderately common. Sedentary.

Habitat
Primary and secondary rainforest, including gallerey forest, semi-deciduous vine thickets, semi-deciduous mesophyll vine forest and edges of rainforest bordering roadsides and other clearings.

Range (Guide)

Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea.

Image of Range of Green-backed Honeyeater

Northern Cape York Peninsula.

Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
Secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Singly or in pairs or small parties.

Food
Almost exclusively insects.

Voice
A thin, insect-like 'peep'. A soft twitter. An aggressive, rapid 'twit' or 'twee-twee-twit-twit'.

Listen to call of Green-backed Honeyeater

(37Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (1)...)

Green-backed Honeyeater (Glycichaera fallax) [XC142994]
by Phil Gregory from Varirata National Park, National Capital District, Papua New Guinea (call)

Green-backed Honeyeater (Glycichaera fallax) [XC519484]
by Phil Gregory from Iron Range National Park, QLD, Australia (call, cicadas)

Breeding Season (Guide)
July - December.

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; light grey-brown with darker chocolate-brown at the larger end; oval; about 20 x 15 mm.

Young
Probably altricial, nidicolous.

Subspecies
The following 4 subspecies are recognised:

fallax Salvadori, 1878 - Yapen I (Geelvink Bay) and lowland New Guinea east of Geelvink Bay and Onin Peninsula to Milne Bay.
pallida Stresemann & Paludan, 1932 - West Papuan Is (Waigeo, Batanta, Salawati).
poliocephala Salvadori, 1878 - Misool I (West Papuan Is), Aru Is and lowland north-western New Guinea east to head of Geelvink Bay (lower Menoo R) and Onin Peninsula (Kapaur).
claudi (Mathews, 1914) - North-eastern Queensland (eastern Cape York Peninsula southern as far as Princess Charlotte Bay), in north-eastern Australia.

Similar Species
Female and juvenile Fairy Gerygone (Gerygone palpebrosa) which have shorter, blunt and black bill and black legs.

References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9

Files:

JPG files for Green-backed Honeyeater (Glycichaera fallax) - 10 files

MP3 files for Green-backed Honeyeater (Glycichaera fallax) - 1 files

More Information

BirdLife International

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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