Crescent Honeyeater
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The crescent honeyeater (''Phylidonyris pyrrhopterus'') is a
passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped') which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines generally have an anisodactyl arrangement of their ...
bird of the honeyeater family
Meliphagidae The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are m ...
native to southeastern
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
. A member of the genus ''
Phylidonyris ''Phylidonyris'' is a genus of birds in the honeyeater family that are endemic to Australia. Taxonomy The genus ''Phylidonyris'' was introduced in 1830 by the French naturalist René Lesson to accommodate a single species, ''Certhia novaeholland ...
'', it is most closely related to the common
New Holland honeyeater The New Holland honeyeater (''Phylidonyris novaehollandiae'') is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia, and was initially named ''Certhia novaehollandi ...
(''P. novaehollandiae'') and the
white-cheeked honeyeater The white-cheeked honeyeater (''Phylidonyris niger'') is a species of honeyeater that inhabits the east coast and the south-west corner of Australia. It has a large white patch on its cheek, brown eyes, and a yellow panel on its wing. Taxonomy ...
(''P. niger''). Two subspecies are recognized, with ''P. p. halmaturinus'' restricted in range to
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...
and the
Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and d ...
in
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...
. It has dark grey
plumage Plumage () is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, there can b ...
and paler underparts, highlighted by yellow wing-patches and a broad, black crescent, outlined in white, down the sides of its breast. The species exhibits slight
sexual dimorphism Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
, with the female being duller in colour than the male. Juvenile birds are similar to the female, though the yellow wing-patches of male nestlings can be easily distinguished. The male has a complex and variable
song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
, which is heard throughout the year. It sings from an exposed perch, and during the breeding season performs song flights. The crescent honeyeater is found in areas of dense vegetation including
sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or ...
forest and
alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...
habitats, as well as
heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
land, and parks and gardens, where its diet is made up of
nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...
and
invertebrate Invertebrates are animals that neither develop nor retain a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''spine'' or ''backbone''), which evolved from the notochord. It is a paraphyletic grouping including all animals excluding the chordata, chordate s ...
s. It forms long-term pairs, and often stays committed to one breeding site for several years. The female builds the
nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold Egg (biology), eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of ...
and does most of the caring for the two to three young, which become
independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
within 40 days of laying its egg. The parent birds use a range of anti-predator strategies, but nestlings can be taken by snakes,
kookaburra Kookaburras (pronounced ) are terrestrial animal, terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri language, Wira ...
s,
currawong Currawongs are three species of medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Strepera'' in the family Artamidae native to Australia. These are the grey currawong (''Strepera versicolor''), pied currawong (''S. graculina''), and black ...
s, or cats. While the crescent honeyeater faces a number of threats, its population numbers and distribution are sufficient for it to be listed as of ''
Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
'' for conservation.


Taxonomy

The crescent honeyeater was originally described by ornithologist John Latham in 1801 as ''Certhia pyrrhoptera'', because of an assumed relationship with the
treecreeper The treecreepers are a family, Certhiidae, of small passerine birds, widespread in wooded regions of the Northern Hemisphere. The family contains nine species in one genus, '' Certhia''. Their plumage is dull-coloured. As their name implies, they ...
s ''Certhia''. It was later named ''Certhia australasiana'' by George Shaw in 1812, ''Melithreptus melanoleucus'' by
Louis Pierre Vieillot Louis Pierre Vieillot (10 May 1748, Yvetot – 24 August 1830, Sotteville-lès-Rouen) was a French ornithologist. Vieillot is the author of the first scientific descriptions and Linnaean names of a number of birds, including species he collected ...
in 1817, and ''Meliphaga inornata'' by
John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist who published monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould (illustrator), Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, includ ...
in 1838. The generic term comes from the French ''phylidonyre'', which combines the names for a honeyeater and a
sunbird Sunbirds and spiderhunters make up the family Nectariniidae of passerine birds. They are small, slender passerines from the Old World, usually with downward-curved bills. Many are brightly coloured, often with iridescent feathers, particularly i ...
(previously thought to belong to the same family). The specific epithet is derived from the
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...
stems ''pyrrhos'' meaning 'fire' and ''pteron'' meaning 'wing', in reference to the yellow wing patches. Some guidebooks have the
binomial Binomial may refer to: In mathematics *Binomial (polynomial), a polynomial with two terms *Binomial coefficient, numbers appearing in the expansions of powers of binomials *Binomial QMF, a perfect-reconstruction orthogonal wavelet decomposition * ...
name written as ''Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera''; however, a review in 2001 ruled that the genus name was masculine, hence ''pyrrhopterus'' is the correct specific name. Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate form ''P. p. pyrrhopterus'' over most of its range; and ''P. p. halmaturinus'', which is restricted to
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...
and the
Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and d ...
. A 2004 molecular study showed its close relatives to be the
New Holland honeyeater The New Holland honeyeater (''Phylidonyris novaehollandiae'') is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia, and was initially named ''Certhia novaehollandi ...
and the
white-cheeked honeyeater The white-cheeked honeyeater (''Phylidonyris niger'') is a species of honeyeater that inhabits the east coast and the south-west corner of Australia. It has a large white patch on its cheek, brown eyes, and a yellow panel on its wing. Taxonomy ...
, the three forming the now small genus ''Phylidonyris''. A 2017 genetic study using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA found the white-streaked honeyeater to also lie within the clade. The ancestor of the crescent honeyeater diverged from the lineage giving rise to the white-streaked, New Holland and white-cheeked honeyeaters around 7.5 million years ago.
DNA Deoxyribonucleic acid (; DNA) is a polymer composed of two polynucleotide chains that coil around each other to form a double helix. The polymer carries genetic instructions for the development, functioning, growth and reproduction of al ...
analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes),
Acanthizidae Acanthizidae—sometimes called Australian warblers—are a family of passerine birds which includes gerygones, thornbills '' Acanthiza'', and scrubwrens '' Sericornis''. The family Acanthizidae consists of small to medium passerine birds, with ...
(Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and
Maluridae The Australasian wrens are a family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens. The family comprises 32 species (including sixteen ...
(Australian fairy-wrens) in the large superfamily
Meliphagoidea __NOTOC__ Meliphagoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. They contain a vast diversity of small to mid-sized songbirds widespread in the Austropacific region. The Australian Continent has the largest richness in genera and species. Systemat ...
. "Crescent honeyeater" has been designated as the official common name for the species by the
International Ornithologists' Union The International Ornithologists' Union (IOU) is an international organization for the promotion of ornithology Ornithology, from Ancient Greek ὄρνις (''órnis''), meaning "bird", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study", ...
(IOC). Other common names include , Egypt and horseshoe honeyeater. Gould called it the Tasmanian honeyeater.


Description


Appearance

The crescent honeyeater measures in length with a wingspan of , and it weighs about . It is
sexually dimorphic Sexual dimorphism is the condition where sexes of the same species exhibit different Morphology (biology), morphological characteristics, including characteristics not directly involved in reproduction. The condition occurs in most dioecy, di ...
with the female a paler version of the male. The male is mostly dark grey, with clear yellow wing-patches; a broad black crescent, outlined in white, down the sides of the breast; and a white streak above the eye. The top of the tail is black with yellow edges to the feathers forming distinctive yellow panels on the sides of the tail. White tips on the undertail are usually only visible in flight. The underparts are pale brownish-grey fading to white. The female is duller, more olive-brown than grey, with duller yellow wing-patches and faded crescent-shaped markings. Both sexes have dark grey legs and feet, deep ruby eyes and a long, downcurved black bill. The
gape The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ca ...
is also black. Young birds are similar to the adults, though not as strongly marked, and have dark grey bills, duller brown eyes, and yellow gapes. Male nestlings can be distinguished by their more extensive yellow wing-patches from seven days old.
Moulting In biology, moulting (British English), or molting (American English), also known as sloughing, shedding, or in many invertebrates, ecdysis, is a process by which an animal casts off parts of its body to serve some beneficial purpose, either at ...
patterns of the species are poorly known; crescent honeyeaters appear to replace their primary flight feathers between October and January. While both subspecies have the same general appearance, the female of ''halmaturinus'' has paler plumage than the nominate race, and both male and female have a smaller wing and tail and longer bill. The ''halmaturinus'' population on Kangaroo Island has a significantly shorter wing and longer bill than the Mount Lofty population, although this size variation of an insular form is at odds with
Allen's Allen's, earlier A. W. Allen Limited, is an Australian brand of confectionery products produced by Nestlé. Allen's is the top brand of sugar confectionery in Australia. It is best known for Minties, a soft chewable mint-flavoured confectionery, ...
and Bergmann's rules.


Vocalisation

The crescent honeyeater has a range of musical calls and songs. One study recorded chatter
alarm calls In animal communication, an alarm signal is an antipredator adaptation in the form of signals emitted by social animals in response to danger. Many primates and birds have elaborate alarm calls for warning conspecifics of approaching predators ...
similar to the
New Holland honeyeater The New Holland honeyeater (''Phylidonyris novaehollandiae'') is a honeyeater species found throughout southern Australia. It was among the first birds to be scientifically described in Australia, and was initially named ''Certhia novaehollandi ...
, a number of harsh
monosyllabic In linguistics, a monosyllable is a word or utterance of only one syllable. It is most commonly studied in the fields of phonology and morphology. The word has originated from the Greek language Greek (, ; , ) is an Indo-European languages, Ind ...
or tri-syllabic
contact calls Contact calls are seemingly haphazard sounds made by many social animals (such as a chicken's cluck). Contact calls are unlike other calls (such as alarm calls) in that they are not usually widely used, conspicuous calls, but rather short exclamatio ...
, and complex and diverse songs. The most common contact call is a loud, carrying "e-gypt", while the alarm call is a sharp and rapid "chip-chip-chip". The male also has a melodic
song A song is a musical composition performed by the human voice. The voice often carries the melody (a series of distinct and fixed pitches) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs have a structure, such as the common ABA form, and are usu ...
which is heard throughout the year, at any time of the day. The structure of the song is complex and diverse, and includes both a descending whistle and a musical two-note call. The male's song is performed from an exposed perch or within the tree
canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...
, and it engages in mating displays (song flights) during the breeding season. When the female is on the nest and the male nearby, they utter low soft notes identified as "whisper song".


Distribution and habitat

There are records of scattered populations of the crescent honeyeater on the
Central Tablelands The Central Tablelands in New South Wales is a geographic area that lies between the Sydney Metropolitan Area and the Central Western Slopes and Plains. The Great Dividing Range passes in a north–south direction through the Central Tablelands ...
, the
Mid North Coast The Mid North Coast is a country region in the north-east of the state of New South Wales, Australia. The region, situated 416km north of Sydney, covers the mid northern coast of the state, beginning from Port Stephens at Hawks Nest to as far ...
, and in the
Hunter Region The Hunter Region, also commonly known as the Hunter Valley, Newcastle Region, or simply Hunter, spans the region in northern New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney. It contains the Hunter River (New Sout ...
of
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
, and it is widespread in the areas of New South Wales south of
Dharug National Park The Dharug National Park is a protected national park that is located in the Central Coast region of New South Wales, in eastern Australia. The national park is situated approximately north of the Sydney and west of . The park contains the ...
and east of Bathurst. In
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...
it is widespread across an area from the NSW border south west to
Wallan Wallan , traditionally known as Wallan Wallan (large circular place of water), is a town in Victoria, north of Melbourne's Central Business District. The town sits at the southern end of the large and diverse Shire of Mitchell which extends ...
with scattered populations recorded further west. It is widespread in
Tasmania Tasmania (; palawa kani: ''Lutruwita'') is an island States and territories of Australia, state of Australia. It is located to the south of the Mainland Australia, Australian mainland, and is separated from it by the Bass Strait. The sta ...
, except in the northeastern part of the state where it is more sparsely distributed. It is restricted to sclerophyll forest in eastern South Australia, where isolated populations have been recorded in the
Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and d ...
and on
Kangaroo Island Kangaroo Island (, ) is Australia's third-largest island, after Tasmania and Melville Island, Northern Territory, Melville Island. It lies in the state of South Australia, southwest of Adelaide. Its closest point to the mainland is Snapper Poi ...
. Local influxes have occurred outside its normal range in response to changes in habitat. Recorded population densities range from near
Orbost Orbost is a town in the Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne and south of Canberra where the Princes Highway crosses the Snowy River. It is about from the surf and fishing seaside town of Marlo on the coast of Ba ...
, to in Boola Boola State Forest, also in Victoria. While the crescent honeyeater occupies a wide variety of habitats including coastal
heath A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and is characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a coole ...
,
rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...
, wet
sclerophyll Sclerophyll is a type of vegetation that is adapted to long periods of dryness and heat. The plants feature hard leaves, short Internode (botany), internodes (the distance between leaves along the stem) and leaf orientation which is parallel or ...
forest, mountain forest,
alpine Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to: Places Europe * Alps, a European mountain range ** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range Australia * Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village * Alpine National P ...
woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with woody plants (trees and shrubs), or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the '' plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunli ...
, damp gullies and thick tea-tree scrub, they all demonstrate its preference for dense vegetation. It has been frequently recorded in wet sclerophyll forest dominated by
eucalypt Eucalypt is any woody plant with Capsule (fruit), capsule fruiting bodies belonging to one of seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australia: ''Eucalyptus'', ''Corymbia'', ''Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...
s and with a thick mid-story and
understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...
of shrubs such as blackwood, silver wattle, ''
Cassinia ''Cassinia'' is a genus of about fifty-two species of flowering plants in the family Asteraceae that are native to Australia and New Zealand. Plants in the genus ''Cassinia'' are shrubs, sometimes small trees with leaves arranged alternately, a ...
'', ''
Prostanthera ''Prostanthera'', commonly known as mintbush or mint bush, is a genus of about 100 species of flowering plants in the mint family Lamiaceae, and all are endemic to Australia. Plants are usually shrubs, rarely trees with leaves in oppos ...
'', and '' Correa''. At higher altitudes it occurs in alpine heathlands and in woodlands of stunted eucalypt or conifers. The movements of the crescent honeyeater within its range are incompletely known. There is widespread evidence of seasonal migration to lower altitudes in cooler months, yet a proportion of the population remains sedentary. Autumn and winter migration to the lowland coastal areas is seen in southern Tasmania, where it is not unusual to see it in urban parks and gardens, as well as in
Gippsland Gippsland () is a rural region in the southeastern part of Victoria, Australia, mostly comprising the coastal plains south of the Victorian Alps (the southernmost section of the Great Dividing Range). It covers an elongated area of east of th ...
, and the New South Wales Central and South Coast. In the Sydney region, some birds appear to move down from the Blue Mountains to Sydney for the cooler months, yet others remain in either location for the whole year. It is only seen in alpine and subalpine areas of the
Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range, a cordillera syste ...
in warmer snow-free months (mainly October to April). Other populations of crescent honeyeaters follow a more nomadic pattern of following food sources; this has been recorded in the Blue Mountains and parts of Victoria.


Behaviour


Breeding

Crescent honeyeaters occupy territories during the breeding season of July to March, with pairs often staying on in the territory at the end of the season and committing to one breeding site for several years. Banding studies have recaptured birds within metres of the nest in which they were raised, and one female was re-trapped at the banding place almost ten years later. The pairs nest solitarily, or in loose colonies with nests around apart. The male defends the territory, which is used both for foraging and breeding, though during the breeding season he is more active in protecting the area, and therefore much more vocal. During courtship the male performs song flights, soaring with quivering wings and continuously calling with a high piping note. The female builds the nest close to the boundary of the territory, usually near water, low in the shrubs. It is a deep, cup-shaped, bulky nest of cobweb, bark, grass, twigs, roots and other plant materials, lined with grass, down, moss, and fur. The long strips of bark from
stringybark A stringybark can be any of the many ''Eucalyptus'' species which have thick, fibrous bark. Like all eucalypts, stringybarks belong to the family Myrtaceae. In exceptionally fertile locations some stringybark species (in particular messmate strin ...
or messmate trees are often used. The
clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that allows an output shaft to be disconnected from a rotating input shaft. The clutch's input shaft is typically attached to a motor, while the clutch's output shaft is connected to the mechanism that does th ...
size is 2 or 3, occasionally 4. Measuring by , the eggs are pale pink, sometimes buff-tinged, with lavender and chestnut splotches. The base colour is darker at the larger end. The female incubates and broods the eggs, but both sexes feed the nestlings and remove faecal sacs, although the female does the majority of caring for the young. The young birds are fed
insects Insects (from Latin ') are hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs of jointed ...
, with flies making up much of the regurgitated material, according to one study. The incubation period is 13 days, followed by a fledging period of 13 days. The parent birds feed the fledglings for around two weeks after they leave the nest, but the young do not remain long in the parents' territory. The young are independent within 40 days of egg-laying. Parent birds have been observed using a range of anti-
predator Predation is a biological interaction in which one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common List of feeding behaviours, feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation ...
strategies: the female staying on the nest until almost touched; one or other of the pair performing distraction displays, fluttering wings and moving across the ground; the female flying rapidly at the intruder; and both birds giving harsh scolding calls when a
kookaburra Kookaburras (pronounced ) are terrestrial animal, terrestrial tree kingfishers of the genus ''Dacelo'' native to Australia and New Guinea, which grow to between in length and weigh around . The name is a loanword from Wiradjuri language, Wira ...
,
tiger snake The tiger snake (''Notechis scutatus'') is a large and highly venomous snake of southern Australia, including its coastal islands and Tasmania. These snakes are often observed and locally well known by their banding, black and yellow like a ti ...
or
currawong Currawongs are three species of medium-sized passerine birds belonging to the genus ''Strepera'' in the family Artamidae native to Australia. These are the grey currawong (''Strepera versicolor''), pied currawong (''S. graculina''), and black ...
approached. The nests of the crescent honeyeater are usually low in the shrubs, which makes them and their young vulnerable to predation by snakes and other birds; however, domestic and feral cats are the most likely predators to hunt this species. Crescent honeyeaters pair in long-term relationships that often last for the whole year; however, while they are socially
monogamous Monogamy ( ) is a relationship of two individuals in which they form a mutual and exclusive intimate partnership. Having only one partner at any one time, whether for life or serial monogamy, contrasts with various forms of non-monogamy (e.g. ...
, they appear to be sexually
promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as promiscuous by man ...
. One study found that only 42% of the nestlings were sired by the male partner at the nest, despite
paternity Paternity may refer to: *Father, the male parent of a (human) child *Paternity (law), fatherhood as a matter of law * ''Paternity'' (film), a 1981 comedy film starring Burt Reynolds * "Paternity" (''House''), a 2004 episode of the television seri ...
guards such as pairing and territorial defence. The crescent honeyeaters observed exhibited a number of characteristics consistent with genetic promiscuity: sexual dimorphism, with sex-specific plumages identifiable at nestling stage; reduced male contribution to feeding and caring for the young; vigorous defence of the territory by the male; and frequent intrusions into other territories by females which were tolerated by the males holding those territories.


Feeding

The crescent honeyeater is arboreal, foraging mainly among the foliage and flowers in the
understory In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the Canopy (biology), forest ca ...
and tree canopy on nectar, fruits and small insects. It has been recorded eating the honeydew of
psyllids Psyllidae, the jumping plant lice or psyllids, are a Family (biology), family of small plant-feeding insects that tend to be very host-specific, i.e. each plant-louse species only feeds on one plant species (monophagous) or feeds on a few closel ...
, soft scale and felt scale insects. It feeds primarily by probing flowers for nectar, and
gleaning Gleaning is the act of collecting leftover crops in the field after harvest. During harvest, there is food that is left or missed often because it does not meet store standards for uniformity. Sometimes, fields are left because they were not ec ...
foliage and bark and sallying for insects. While regularly observed feeding singly or in pairs, the crescent honeyeater has also been recorded moving in loose feeding flocks, and gathering in large groups at productive food sources. A study in forest near
Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...
in Tasmania found that the crescent honeyeater's diet was wholly composed of insects during the breeding season, while nectar was a significant component during winter. Insects consumed included moths and flies. Tree-trunks were the site of foraging around two-thirds of the time, and foliage a third. It fed on nectar as plants came into flower in the autumn and winter, and then foraged in Tasmanian blue gum (''
Eucalyptus globulus ''Eucalyptus globulus'', commonly known as southern blue gum or blue gum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Myrtaceae. It is a tall, evergreen tree Endemism, endemic to southeastern Australia. This ''Eucalyptus'' species has most ...
'') during the breeding season in spring. The flowering of royal grevillea ('' Grevillea victoriae'') over summer in subalpine areas in the
Snowy Mountains The Snowy Mountains, known informally as "The Snowies", is an IBRA subregion in southern New South Wales, Australia, and is the tallest mountain range in mainland Australia, being part of the continent's Great Dividing Range, a cordillera syste ...
attracted large numbers of crescent honeyeaters. It feeds intensively when sources are plentiful and, when feeding on flame heath ('' Astroloma conostephioides''), it was recorded visiting an average of 34 flowers per minute. Other plants it has been recorded visiting include a number of ''
Banksia ''Banksia'' is a genus of around 170 species of flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. These Australian wildflowers and popular garden plants are easily recognised by their characteristic flower spikes, and woody fruiting "cones" and head ...
'' species, waratah ('' Telopea''), tubular flowered genera including ''
Astroloma ''Astroloma'' is a historically recognised genus of about 25 species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae and endemic to Australia. The genus was first described in 1810 by Robert Brown in his ''Prodromus Florae Novae Hollandiae''. Pla ...
'', ''
Epacris ''Epacris'' is a genus of about forty species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae. It was formerly treated in a closely related but separate family Epacridaceae, but the various genera within Epacridaceae including ''Epacris'' have been ...
'' and '' Correa'', mistletoes of the genus ''
Amyema ''Amyema'' is a genus of semi- parasitic shrubs (mistletoes) which occur in Malesia and Australia. Etymology ''Amyema'' derives from the Greek: ''a'' (negative), and ''myeo'' (I initiate), referring to the genus being previously unrecognised. D ...
'', and eucalypts in the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia. In Bondi State Forest it was also recorded feeding at cluster-flower geebung ('' Persoonia confertiflora''), native holly ('' Lomatia ilicifolia''), tall shaggy-pea ('' Oxylobium arborescens''), silver wattle (''
Acacia dealbata ''Acacia dealbata'', the silver wattle, blue wattle or mimosa, is a species of flowering plant in the legume family, Fabaceae. It is native to southeastern Australia and widely introduced in other warm climates. Description It is a fast-growing ...
'') and blackthorn (''
Bursaria spinosa ''Bursaria spinosa'' is a small tree or shrub in the family Pittosporaceae. The species occurs mainly in the eastern and southern half of Australia and not in Western Australia or the Northern Territory. Reaching 10 m (35 ft) high, it ...
''). Local differences in flower foraging patterns have been observed in South Australia; populations on Kangaroo Island forage more often at ''
Adenanthos ''Adenanthos'' is a genus of Australian native shrubs in the flowering plant family Proteaceae. Variable in habit and leaf shape, it is the only genus in the family where solitary flowers are the norm. It was discovered in 1791, and formally pub ...
'' flowers than those in the nearby
Fleurieu Peninsula The Fleurieu Peninsula ( ; locally mainly ) is a peninsula in the Australian state of South Australia located south of the state capital of Adelaide city centre, Adelaide. History Before British colonisation of South Australia, the western s ...
, while the latter forage more often at eucalypt blooms, and at a higher diversity of plants overall.


Conservation status

While the population numbers and distribution are sufficient for the crescent honeyeater to be listed as of ''
Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...
'' for conservation, numbers have fluctuated significantly over the past twenty-five years and currently seem to be in decline. The threats to the crescent honeyeater include
habitat destruction Habitat destruction (also termed habitat loss or habitat reduction) occurs when a natural habitat is no longer able to support its native species. The organisms once living there have either moved elsewhere, or are dead, leading to a decrease ...
, as the alpine forests in which it breeds are being reduced by weed infestations, severe bushfires, drought and land-clearing. The crescent honeyeater's dependence on long-term partnerships and breeding territories means that breeding success is threatened by the death of one partner or the destruction of habitual territory. The influx of birds to urban areas also places them at increased risk of accidents and predation. Cats have been recorded preying on crescent honeyeaters, and at least one guide urges cat owners to keep their cats in enclosures when outside the house or to provide a stimulating indoor environment for them.


References


External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1300521 crescent honeyeater Birds of New South Wales Birds of South Australia Birds of Tasmania Birds of Victoria (state) crescent honeyeater Taxa named by John Latham (ornithologist)