Lichenostomus Cratitius
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The purple-gaped honeyeater (''Lichenostomus cratitius'') 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
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 ...
to semi-arid southern
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 ...
, where it inhabits mallee, tall heath and associated low eucalypt woodland.Menkhorst, P., Rogers, D., Clarke, R., Davies, J., Marsack, P., Franklin, K. (2019) ''The Australian Bird Guide: Revised Edition'',
CSIRO Publishing CSIRO Publishing is an Australian-based science and technology publisher. It publishes books, journals and magazines across a range of scientific disciplines, including agriculture, chemistry, plant and animal sciences, natural history and enviro ...
, Melbourne, Victoria,


Description

The purple-gaped honeyeater is a medium-sized (16-19 centimetres) honeyeater which is generally grey-olive above and buffish yellow below. They have a patterned head, with a black eyestripe against a grey background and purple gape above a yellow streak on the throat and pointed yellow ear coverts. Juveniles are similar, but with duller facial patterns, slightly browner plumage, and a yellow gape and gape line. The
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 ...
subspecies is considered to be larger and darker than the mainland subspecies. Similar species include yellow-plumed honeyeater and singing honeyeater. The bird is also named Wattle-Cheeked Honeyeater in Birds of Australia vol 11 by Gregory Mathews


Call

The song is a clear ''toweet-toweet-toweet'', followed by a high-pitched ''yep-yep-yep'', often performed from a tall branch, including before dawn.


Distribution

They occur in disjunct populations across southern Australia, east from southern Western Australia, with the eastern population largely occurring south of the Murray River, and NSW forming the extreme north-east of its range. Despite its naturally disjunct populations, the purple-gaped honeyeater has very low genetic diversity across its range.


Ecology and behaviour

The main habitat type for purple-gaped honeyeater is mallee woodland and shrubland.Tzaros, C. (2021) ''Wildlife of the Box-Ironbark Country.'' 2nd Edition,
CSIRO Publishing CSIRO Publishing is an Australian-based science and technology publisher. It publishes books, journals and magazines across a range of scientific disciplines, including agriculture, chemistry, plant and animal sciences, natural history and enviro ...
, Melbourne, Victoria,
This includes bull mallee, with patches of green mallee or blue mallee. They also occur in yellow gum woodland with dense thickets of 'totem-poles' or violet honey-myrtle on low-lying flats and gullies in mallee areas. They are occasionally recorded in river red gums bordering waterways, and seasonally in red ironbark woodlands when they are in flower. Purple-gaped honeyeaters can also occasionally be found in gardens. They are gregarious, usually seen in pairs, or groups of 3-8 birds. Generally considered quiet and unobtrusive, except in spring when they may call often. They are known to regularly drink and bathe, particularly in warmer weather. Purple-gaped honeyeaters associate with yellow-plumed honeyeater and tawny-crowned honeyeater, but can be aggressive towards other honeyeaters, and frequently chase other birds, particularly when feeding.


Diet

Purple-gaped honeyeaters feed mainly on nectar and insects, especially from flowering mallee eucalypts, and banksias. They also forage for insects under loose bark on trunks and branches of trees, or catch flying insects on the wing. Seeds, pollen and honeydew from
scale insects Scale insects are small insects of the order Hemiptera, suborder Sternorrhyncha. Of dramatically variable appearance and extreme sexual dimorphism, they comprise the infraorder Coccomorpha which is considered a more convenient grouping than the ...
are less frequently consumed.


Reproduction

Purple-gaped honeyeaters build nests as a small cup of bark strips, grass and down, bound with spider web and egg sacs, slung in a horizontal fork or from slender branchlets within dense foliage (usually broombush or eucalypts), normally less than three metres above the ground.


Threats

The purple-gaped honeyeater is vulnerable to clearing of mallee, which destroys habitat by removing food plants and nesting sites.


Conservation actions


Conservation status

* Internationally : * The species is listed under the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological spe ...
as a species of 'Least concern'. * Australia : * In NSW, it is listed as ''Vulnerable'' under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016. : * In South Australia, the species is listed as ''Rare'' under the
National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972 Protected areas of South Australia, consisting of protected areas located within South Australia and its immediate onshore waters and which are managed by South Australian Government agencies. As of 2018, South Australia contained 359 separat ...
. : * In Victoria, the species is listed as ''Vulnerable'' under the
Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988 The ''Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988'', also known as the ''FFG Act'', is an act of the Victorian Parliament designed to protect species, genetic material and habitats, to prevent extinction and allow maximum genetic diversity within the Au ...
.


Protected areas

Purple-gaped honeyeaters occur in several
protected areas Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewoo ...
, including: * New South Wales : *
Mallee Cliffs National Park The Mallee Cliffs National Park is a state park, protected national park that is located in the Sunraysia region, in the south-west of New South Wales, Australia. The national park is situated approximately west of Sydney and east of the ...
* South Australia : *
Flinders Chase National Park Flinders Chase National Park (formerly Flinders Chase) is a protected area in the Australian state of South Australia located at the west end of Kangaroo Island about west-south west of the state capital of Adelaide and west of the municipal ...
: *
Gawler Ranges National Park Gawler Ranges National Park is a protected area lying north-west of Adelaide in the northern Eyre Peninsula of South Australia. It is known for its spectacular rock formations. History The national park originated as the Paney Station pasto ...
: * Billiatt Conservation Park : * Peebinga Conservation Park : *
Gluepot Reserve Gluepot Reserve is a private protected area located in the Australian state of South Australia in the gazetted locality of Gluepot, South Australia, Gluepot about north of the town of Waikerie, South Australia, Waikerie. History Gluepot was e ...
* Victoria : *
Greater Bendigo National Park The Greater Bendigo National Park is a national park located in the Loddon Mallee region of Victoria, Australia. The national park was created in 2002 from the former Whipstick State Park, Kamarooka State Park, One Tree Hill Regional Park, Mandu ...
: *
Hattah-Kulkyne National Park The Hattah-Kulkyne National Park is a national park in the Mallee district of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated adjacent to the Murray River, approximately northwest of Melbourne with the nearest regional centre being Mildura. ...
: *
Little Desert National Park The Little Desert National Park is a national park in the Wimmera Mallee region of Victoria, Australia. The national park is situated near Dimboola, approximately west of Melbourne and extends from the Wimmera River in the east to the South ...
: * Murray-Sunset National Park : *
Wyperfeld National Park The Wyperfeld National Park is the third-largest national park in Victoria, Australia, located in the Mallee district, approximately north-west of Melbourne. The national park was declared in 1921 and has been expanded significantly since, to ...
: *
Big Desert Wilderness Park The Big Desert Wilderness Park is a protected area in the Australian state of Victoria, Australia located in the state's west adjoining the border with South Australia. It is the oldest of Victoria's three wilderness parks. The wilderness par ...
: * Lake Albacutya Park : * Inglewood Nature Conservation Reserve : * Wychitella Nature Conservation Reserve * Western Australia : *
Cape Arid National Park Cape Arid National Park is a List of national parks of Australia, national park located in Western Australia, southeast of Perth. The park is situated east of Esperance, Western Australia, Esperance and lies on the shore of the South coast of ...
: *
Cape Le Grand National Park Cape Le Grand National Park is a national park in Western Australia, south-east of Perth and east of Esperance. The park covers an area of The area is an ancient landscape which has been above sea level for well over 200 million years and ...


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q854690 purple-gaped honeyeater Birds of New South Wales Birds of South Australia Birds of Victoria (state) Birds of Western Australia Endemic birds of Australia purple-gaped honeyeater Taxonomy articles created by Polbot