Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus)

Other Names (World)
Brown-backed Honeyeater, Unadorned Honeyeater, Modest Honeyeater, Melaleuca Honeyeater, Melaleuca Bird

Family
Meliphagidae (Honeyeaters)

Size
12 - 13 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Gray, 1858)

Derivation
Ram-say-orn'-is - E.P. Ramsay (1842 - 1916), prominent Australia ornithologist; Gk, ornis, bird (i.e. Ramsay's bird): mod-est'-us - L., modest

Habitat
Mostly paperbark thickets or woodlands around ephemeral wetlands. Also in nearby eucalypt or paperbark forest or open woodland, especially bordering watercourses.

Range (Guide)

Australia, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea.

Population
Estimated population is unknown (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Usually in pairs, but also singly or small groups.

Food
Insects and nectar.

Voice
A fussy, chattering 'shee-shee-shee'. A sharper 'chit', repeated rapidly. A 'mick-mick-mick' uttered in flight.

Listen to call of Brown-backed Honeyeater

(40Kb) © ? (1)

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (22)...)

Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus) [XC438970]
by Marc Anderson from Mango Lagoon, Oyala-Thumotang NP, Queensland, Australia (call)

Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus) [XC122088]
by Andrew Spencer from Amamapare, Freeport, Papua, Indonesia (song)

Nest
Domed, with a hooded side-entrance, composed of fine strips of paper-bark, lightly bound with cobweb, suspended from a slender branch of a tree or bush, seldom higher than 2 - 3 meters above the ground, usually over water. Sometimes near a wasps nest. One of only two honeyeaters having a nest with a side entrance, the other being Bar-breasted Honeyeater (Ramsayornis fasciatus).

Eggs (Guide)
2 - 3; matt, white, unmarked or very sparingly spotted with minute black dots which sometimes form a dark cap at the larger end; tapered-oval to long-oval; about 20 x 13 mm. Incubation: about 14 - 16 days.

Young
Altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in 12 - 15 days.

Subspecies
No subspecies.

Similar Species
Bar-breasted Honeyeater (Ramsayornis fasciatus) is similar in shape but slightly larger, has a white face with a bold, dark malar stripe, and is boldly streaked.

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 Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus) - 10 files

MP3 files for Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus) - 1 files

More Information

BirdLife International

For more information about the Brown-backed Honeyeater see... Show Articles

BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Articles about the Brown-backed Honeyeater

If you would like to read any articles about the Brown-backed Honeyeater...

Show Articles (0)

No Pictures of Brown-backed Honeyeater

If Birdpedia has no pictures of Brown-backed Honeyeater or you would like to see more, then try the following...

Show External Images from BING

From BING (10)

No Videos of Brown-backed Honeyeater

If Birdpedia has no videos of Brown-backed Honeyeater or you would like to see more, then try the following..

Show External Videos

From BING (0)

Where can I observe this species?

Select an area (or leave blank) to see locations where this species has been recorded.

Area

All

Optional: Complete the following if you wish to restrict the reserve to within a given distance of a location.

Please enter the Latitude and Longitiude of a given location together with the maximum distance (km) to display a list of reserves within that distance. You must enter a Latitude, a Longitude and a distance greater than 0.

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	Find GPS using Google Maps

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

On What Field Trips was this species observed?

Select an area (or leave blank), and a date range, to see field trips on which this species has been recorded.

Area

All

From	To

Latitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or	GPS help

Longitude: (Decimal degrees takes precedence)

Deg	Min	Sec			Decimal degrees (Include compass setting or value)
				or

Distance	Bearing
		Get Sample GPS readings

Latest Sightings for Brown-backed Honeyeater