The Guadalcanal honeyeater (''Guadalcanaria inexpectata'') is a species of

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class (biology), class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the Oviparity, laying of Eggshell, hard-shelled eggs, a high Metabolism, metabolic rate, a fou ...

in the 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 ...

. It is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

within the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

''Guadalcanaria''. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

Guadalcanal Guadalcanal (; indigenous name: ''Isatabu'') is the principal island in Guadalcanal Province of Solomon Islands, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, northeast of Australia. It is the largest island in the Solomons by area and the second- ...

in the

Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...

, where it is found high in

montane forest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

. It was first described in 1929 by

Ernst Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert (29 October 1859 – 11 November 1933) was a widely published German ornithologist. Life and career Hartert was born in the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg on 29 October 1859. In July 1891, he married the illustrat ...

from specimens collected by Rollo Beck and his wife in 1927.

Description

The male and female of the species look the same but females tend to be smaller. The upper parts of the adult are slate grey with a brownish tinge on the rump and upper tail coverts. The throat and neck are greyish white. The breast and abdomen are dark grey, and the vent and undertail coverts are brownish grey with indistinct striation. The ear coverts are a glossy slate grey. On the side of the neck is a tuft of pointed golden-yellow feathers about 2 cm long. The bill is black and the iris brown. Immature birds appear similar to the adults but are smaller and less distinctly striated underneath. The tufts on the side of the neck are a paler yellow.

References

Guadalcanal honeyeater Birds of Guadalcanal Endemic fauna of the Solomon Islands Guadalcanal honeyeater Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Endemic birds of the Solomon Islands {{Solomons-stub