White-cheeked Honeyeater - Hasties Swamp National Park

The white-cheeked honeyeater (''Phylidonyris niger'') is a species of

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Gui ...

that inhabits the east coast and the south-west corner of

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 ...

. It has a large white patch on its cheek, brown eyes, and a yellow panel on its wing.

Taxonomy

The white-cheeked honeyeater was

formally described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...

by the German naturalist

Johann Matthäus Bechstein Johann Matthäus Bechstein (11 July 1757 – 23 February 1822) was a German naturalist, forester, ornithologist, entomologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist. In Great Britain, he was known for his treatise on singing birds (''Naturgeschichte der ...

in 1811. He placed it with the tree creepers in the genus ''

Certhia '' Certhia '' is the genus of birds containing the typical treecreepers, which makes up the family Certhiidae. The typical treecreepers occur in many wooded parts of the North Temperate Zone. They do not normally migrate other than for local m ...

'' and coined the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Certhia nigra''. His account was based on "L'Héorotaire noir" that had been described and illustrated in 1802 by the French ornithologist

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 ...

. Bechstein specified the type locality as "Neuholland", now

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, New South Wales. The white-cheeked honeyeater is now one of three species placed in 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 ...

'' that was introduced in 1830 by

René Lesson René Primevère Lesson (20 March 1794 – 28 April 1849) was a French surgery, surgeon, natural history, naturalist, ornithologist, and herpetologist. Biography Lesson was born at Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Rochefort, and entered the Naval ...

. The generic name ''Phylidonyris'' combines the term ''Phylédon'' or ''Philédon'', used by the French naturalist

Georges Cuvier Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric, baron Cuvier (23 August 1769 – 13 May 1832), known as Georges Cuvier (; ), was a French natural history, naturalist and zoology, zoologist, sometimes referred to as the "founding father of paleontology". Cuv ...

in 1817 for the friarbirds (now placed in the genus '' Philemon''), with ''

Cinnyris ''Cinnyris'' is a genus of sunbirds. Its members are sometimes included in ''Nectarinia''. They are generally known as double-collared sunbirds because the fringe of their bib usually includes a band of contrastingly coloured feathers. The sunb ...

'' (Cuvier, 1816) for the sunbirds; the specific epithet derives from Latin ''niger'' 'black'. Two

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognised: ''Phylidonyris niger niger'' in eastern Australia; and ''P. n. gouldii'' (

Schlegel Schlegel is a German occupational surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Anthony Schlegel (born 1981), American football player * August Wilhelm Schlegel (1767–1845), German poet, brother of Friedrich * Brad Schlegel (born 1968), C ...

, 1872) in southwest Western Australia. The latter subspecies has a narrower white cheek-patch, slightly more black on the breast, and different vocalizations, which in future may lead to its classification as a separate species.

Description

The white-cheeked honeyeater is a medium-sized black and white honeyeater, with a long, sturdy bill that curves downwards. It has large bright-yellow tail and wing panels, with a large conspicuous white cheek-patch on a mainly black head. The eye is dark brown and it has a long, tapering, white brow-line. Young birds have a yellow gape and brow and the plumage is dusky or dull brownish. It is gregarious, active and noisy with swift, erratic flight. It is in length; males weigh and females .Higgins, P., L. Christidis, and H. Ford (2020). "White-cheeked Honeyeater (Phylidonyris niger), version 1.0." In ''Birds of the World'' (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whchon2.01 The vocalizations include a distinctive yapping call "chwikup, chwikup"; a melodious "chippy-choo, chippy-choo" and a higher, repeated lilting "twee-ee-twee-ee" call given in display song-flight during the breeding season.

Similar species

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 ...

, ''Phylidonyris novaehollandiae'', is very similar in size, shape and appearance, but can be distinguished by its white eye.Slater, Peter (1974) ''A Field Guide to Australian Birds: Passerines.'' Adelaide: Rigby. Simpson, Ken, Day, N. and Trusler, P. (6th edn., 1999). ''Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.'' Ringwood, Victoria: Penguin Books Australia . Other black and white honeyeaters are much smaller, including the

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

(''P. pyrrhoptera''), tawny-crowned (''Gliciphila melanops'') and

white-fronted honeyeater The white-fronted honeyeater (''Purnella albifrons'') is a medium-sized bird species endemic to Australia. Mainly distributed throughout arid and semi-arid landscapes. The white-fronted honeyeater has distinct colourings with a white face, black o ...

s (''Purnella albifrons''). Although very similar in appearance, there is not much competition between white-cheeked and New Holland honeyeaters, as they choose different perching sites and have different nesting seasons.

Distribution and habitat

The white-cheeked honeyeater is endemic to eastern and south-western Australia. It ranges from east of the Great Divide in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

through coastal

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 ...

, becoming scattered south to

Jervis Bay Jervis Bay () is a oceanic bay and village in the Jervis Bay Territory and on the South Coast (New South Wales), South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. A area of land around the southern headland of the bay, known as the Jervis Bay Terri ...

. It also occurs in south-western Western Australia and from Israelite Bay, east of Esperance, to the Murchison River in

Kalbarri National Park Kalbarri National Park is located north of Perth, in the Mid West region of Western Australia. The major geographical features of the park include the Murchison River gorge which runs for nearly on the lower reaches of the Murchison River. S ...

. It is usually found in moist heathlands, as well as around paperbark swamps and wetlands, and in forests or woodlands with a heath understory. Occurring in both temperate and subtropical zones, it is found in parks, gardens and flowering street trees throughout their range. Not afraid of humans and adapting easily to settlement activity, it is sometimes killed by cats.

Behaviour

Mostly resident or sedentary, with some seasonal movement at edge of range.

Food and feeding

White-cheeked honeyeaters feed mainly on nectar from the flowers 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 ...

'',

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 ...

, ''

Grevillea ''Grevillea'' (), commonly known as spider flowers, is a genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the family Proteaceae. Plants in the genus ''Grevillea'' are shrubs, rarely trees, with the leaves arranged alternately along the ...

'', bottlebrush,

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 ...

, ''

Darwinia Darwinia may refer to: * ''Darwinia'' (plant) Rudge 1815, a genus of Myrtaceae found only in Australia *''Darwinia'' Raf., a synonym of the legume genus '' Sesbania'' Adans. * ''Darwinia'' (video game), a 2005 video game by Introversion Software * ' ...

'' (in southwest Western Australia), ''

Calothamnus ''Calothamnus'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Myrtaceae and is endemic to the south-west of Western Australia. The common names one-sided bottlebrush or claw flower are given to some species due to their having the flowers clus ...

'' and ''

Dryandra ''Banksia'' ser. ''Dryandra'' is a series of 94 species of shrub to small tree in the plant genus ''Banksia''. It was considered a separate genus named ''Dryandra'' until early 2007, when it was merged into ''Banksia'' on the basis of extensiv ...

'' species. They also glean insects on bark or sally and hover for them in the air. They often feed busily and noisily in small groups and may feed beside New Holland honeyeaters.

Breeding

White-cheeked honeyeaters pair monogamously for the breeding season, which can be at any time of year coincident with nectar availability, though peaking from August to November and March to May.Morcombe, Michael (2012) ''Field Guide to Australian Birds.'' Pascal Press, Glebe, NSW. Revised edition. Males defend breeding territories that can be held for several years. Males aggressively attack other birds of their own and other species during the breeding season, but not familiar birds such as their own mates, relatives and resident neighbours.Higgins, P.J., Peter, J.M. and Steele, W.K. (eds) (2001) ''Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 5 (Tyrant-flycatchers to Chats).'' Oxford University Press, Melbourne. There is not much competition between white-cheeked and New Holland honeyeaters, as they choose different perching sites and have different nesting seasons. The female builds a cup-shaped

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 ...

from twigs, strips of bark, and other plant materials, bound with spider web, and lined with plant down and pieces of flowers. The nest is placed low in forked branches of trees or shrubs, often close to the ground, but well-concealed in dense foliage or in grass below shrubs and ferns. A clutch of 2 or 3 eggs, each measuring , is laid. The eggs are whitish buff to pink, splotched with chestnut-red and slate-grey towards the large end.Pizzey, Graham; Doyle, Roy (1980) ''A Field Guide to the Birds of Australia''. Collins Publishers, Sydney. The female incubates the eggs for 15 days. Both parents feed the nestlings for 15 days, then continue feeding the young for several weeks after fledging.

Conservation status

The white-cheeked honeyeater is classified as

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 ...

on the

IUCN Red List 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 ...

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q1310316

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 ...

Birds of Western Australia Birds of Queensland Birds of New South Wales

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