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Banded Honeyeater (Certhionyx pectoralis) Size: 11.5-13.5 cm Body mass: 8-13 g

Australia: Family Group 18 Family Group 18 Table Yellow Wattlebird Red Wattlebird Little Wattlebird Western Wattlebird Regent Honeyeater Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Striped Honeyeater Helmeted Friarbird Silver-crowned Friarbird Noisy Friarbird Little Friarbird Blue-faced Honeyeater Bell Miner Yellow-throated Miner Noisy Miner Macleay's Honeyeater Tawny-breasted Honeyeater Yellow-spotted Honeyeater Graceful Honeyeater Lewin's Honeyeater Yellow-faced Honeyeater Bridled Honeyeater Eungella Honeyeater Singing Honeyeater Mangrove Honeyeater Varied Honeyeater White-lined Honeyeater Kimberley Honeyeater White-gaped Honeyeater Yellow Honeyeater White-eared Honeyeater Yellow-throated Honeyeater Yellow-tufted Honeyeater Purple-gaped Honeyeater Grey-headed Honeyeater Yellow-plumed Honeyeater Grey-fronted Honeyeater Fuscous Honeyeater Yellow-tinted Honeyeater White-plumed Honeyeater Green-backed Honeyeater Brown Honeyeater Bar-breasted Honeyeater Brown-backed Honeyeater Rufous-throated Honeyeater Grey Honeyeater Tawny-crowned Honeyeater Rufous-banded Honeyeater White-streaked Honeyeater New Holland Honeyeater White-cheeked Honeyeater Crescent Honeyeater White-fronted Honeyeater Painted Honeyeater Black-chinned Honeyeater White-throated Honeyeater Strong-billed Honeyeater White-naped Honeyeater Brown-headed Honeyeater Black-headed Honeyeater Eastern Spinebill Western Spinebill Banded Honeyeater Black Honeyeater Pied Honeyeater Scarlet Honeyeater Red-headed Honeyeater Dusky Honeyeater Garden Sunbird Gibberbird Crimson Chat Orange Chat Yellow Chat White-fronted Chat Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Banded Honeyeaters are very small nectar-eating birds. Their plumage changes between breeding season and eclipse. During the breeding season the top of the head, to under the eyes, the nape of the neck, the back, the wings and the uppertail are all black, while the rump is white. The front, from the throat via the sides of the neck, the chest, belly and vent, is all-white, except for an horizontal black band spanning across the chest, connecting with the black back at the shoulders. In eclipse the back turns greyish-brown and the gapes become pale, while the rest of the plumage remains unchanged. The irises are dark-brown. The long, slightly down-curved bill is black, while the legs and feet are grey. Juveniles have brown colours on their head where adults are black and their ear coverts are yellowish. Twitcher's tip Together with Black Honeyeaters and Pied Honeyeaters, Banded Honeyeaters are one of three small black-and-white honeyeater species found in Australia. Of these three, Banded Honeyeaters are the only ones with an horizontal black band across the chest.

Taxonomy, classification See Banded Honeyeater at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Banded Honeyeater is available HERE . Banded Honeyeaters are endemic to the tropical North of Australia. They populate the entire northern part of the continent, from the Kimberley in WA, via the Top End of the NT, the South coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, to Cape York peninsula in QLD, to just westward of Cairns. Banded Honeyeaters live in tropical forest and grassy woodland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information R. Russell found a Banded Honeyeater at Mount Molloy, QLD, in November 2007. B. Hensen reports spotting Banded Honeyeaters on the Marrakai track, NT, and at the Darwin River Dam, NT, in August 2013. Next, a group of Banded Honeyeaters, including immature birds, was spotted in the Adelaide River floodplain, NT, in July 2014. Another was found in Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, in July 2019. H. Mouritsen reports spotting Banded Honeyeaters in various locations in and around Darwin, NT, in October 2015. P. Brown found a Banded Honeyeater along the Buchanan Highway, a few km southward of the junction with the Victoria Highway, NT, in November 2018. More Banded Honeyeaters were found in Nitmiluk NP, near Katherine, NT, in September 2020. M. Eaton reports finding Banded Honeyeaters at Holmes Jungle Nature Park, Darwin, NT, and at a waterhole ca. 100 km west of Timber Creek, NT, in July 2020. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours spotted a Banded Honeyeater at Julatten, QLD, in December 2020.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Near-frontal view of an adult Banded Honeyeater in breeding plumage with its tongue sticking out (photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Mount Molloy, QLD, November 2007]

Near-lateral view of an adult Banded Honeyeater in breeding plumage - the gape is dark and both mantle and band are black (photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Mount Molloy, QLD, November 2007]

Lateral view of an adult Banded Honeyeater in breeding plumage - both mantle and band are black
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, Adelaide River floodplain, NT, July 2014]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of an adult Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage; note the yellow gape, but black breast band and cap
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, December 2020]

Frontal view of a Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage looking sideways (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin River Dam, NT, August 2013]

Frontal view of a Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2019]

Different view of the same Banded Honeyeater as shown above (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, July 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, December 2020]

Lateral view of a Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin River Dam, NT, August 2013]

Lateral view of a Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage; note the brown back (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buchanan Highway, NT, November 2018]

Lateral view of a Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage hopping from branch to branch
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, NT, August 2013]

Lateral view of a Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage taking a bath together with Masked Finches
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nackeroo Lookout Road, Timber Creek, NT, November 2018]

Dorsal view of a Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage; note the brown back (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buchanan Highway, NT, November 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of a Banded Honeyeater moulting into adult plumage (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nitmiluk NP, near Katherine, NT, September 2020]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile Banded Honeyeater - note the brown mantle and dark-brown band
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, Adelaide River floodplain, NT, July 2014]

Lateral view of a juvenile Banded Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Nitmiluk NP, near Katherine, NT, September 2020]

Lateral view of a juvenile Banded Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[100 km W of Timber Creek, NT, July 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Banded Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[100 km W of Timber Creek, NT, July 2020]

Frontal view of a very young Banded Honeyeater - note the brown mantle and light-brown band
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, Adelaide River floodplain, NT, July 2014]

Lateral view of a very young Banded Honeyeater - note the brown mantle and light-brown band
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Marrakai track, Adelaide River floodplain, NT, July 2014]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Dispersive

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Food, Diet

Banded Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage feeding on the nectar of a Grevillea (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Darwin River Dam, NT, August 2013]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

bandhon_pb_20181115.m4a	(Inland NT)	Contact call? (Q&A)	© PB
bandhon_pb_20181117.m4a	(Inland NT)	Various	© PB
bandhon_pb_20200727.m4a	(Inland NT)	Various	© PB
bandhon_pb_20181115_2.m4a	(Inland NT)	Various	© PB
bandhon_pb_20181115_3.m4a	(Inland NT)	Annoyed?	© PB

More Banded Honeyeater sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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