Black-headed Honeyeater (Melithreptus affinis) [XC688927]
by Marc Anderson from Lune River, Huon Valley Council, Tasmania, Australia (call)
Black-headed Honeyeater (Melithreptus affinis) [XC688928]
by Marc Anderson from Lune River, Huon Valley Council, Tasmania, Australia (call)
Nest
Cup-shaped composed of fine strips of bark, wool and cobweb, lined with hair, fur, feathers, suspended from small twigs at the end of a drooping branch of a eucalypt, frequently at a considerable height above the ground.
Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; pale flesh, finely spotted and freckled with red-brown and purple-grey, mostly at the larger end; oval; about 19 x 14 mm. Incubation: about 15 days; by both sexes.
Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 15 days. Fed by both parents.
Subspecies
No subspecies.
May form a superspecies with White-naped Honeyeater (Melithreptus lunatus). Birds on King I described as subspecies alisteri, but there are no constant differences apparent between them and populations from mainland Tasmania and Flinders I.
Similar Species
Strong-billed Honeyeater (Melithreptus validirostris) which has white nape-band and a white throat.
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
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BirdLife International Species Factsheet