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Black-chinned Honeyeater
(Melithreptus gularis)
: "Golden-backed Honeyeater", "Black-throated Honeyeater"
Size: 15.5-17 cm
Weight: 19-23 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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Click here for a physical description
Black-chinned Honeyeaters are small nectar-eating birds.
Except for a light-blue skin patches above the eyes and
a white band around the nape of the neck, their head is
black. Down the centre of their throat they have an
inconspicuous black vertical stripe, contrasting against
the white sides of the throat. The rest of the front, from
the breast down to the undertail coverts, is light-grey.
The back and rump of race
"gularis"
is olive-grey, while the tropical race
"laetior"
("Golden-backed Honeyeater")
has a golden yellow nape of the neck and yellow-olive back
and rump. The eye skin patches of race
"laetior"
are yellowish-green.
The wings of both races are dark-grey, the uppertail
is also dark-grey, while the undertail is light-grey.
The irises are dark. The short, slightly down-curved
bill is black, while the legs and feet are the colour
of skin.
Juveniles
have a dull-brown head (very similar to a
Brown-headed Honeyeater's,
except for their yellowish bill).
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See
Black-chinned Honeyeater at Wikipedia .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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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
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The global distribution of the Black-chinned Honeyeater is available
HERE
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Black-chinned Honeyeaters are endemic to Australia.
There are two races of Black-chinned Honeyeaters. One is found
in the tropical North of Australia, the other along the South
and East coast.
Next to a small population near Adelaide, SA, and just to the
North of it, nominate race
"gularis"
has a range from the SA/VIC border, via the hill ranges of central
VIC, into the plains of NSW on the western side of the Great Dividing
Range. North of about Newcastle, NSW (the Hunter
estuary), they
are also found inside the ranges and along the coastal margin, into
southern QLD (to the East of a line connecting Mackay and Tullamulla,
QLD). Further to the West, in central QLD and the southern 2/3 of
Cape York peninsula, the range of race
"laetior"
starts, which then extends into the northern half of the NT (except
the Top End), the Kimberley in WA and an area comprising the
catchments of the Fitzroy River and the Ashburton River in
north-western WA.
Black-chinned Honeyeaters can be found in various types of
woodland;
we have seen them in open
eucalypt
forest with
some undergrowth.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "gularis"
A Black-chinned Honeyeater, race
"gularis",
was first seen by us in a
bottlebrush
in our rural
garden
in 2005, 20 km South of Narrabri, NSW.
A single Black-chinned Honeyeater, race
"gularis",
was spotted in October 2005, at Myall Creek, NSW.
Black-chinned Honeyeaters, race
"gularis",
in amongst other honeyeaters,
were seen by us feeding in
eucalypt
trees with plenty of
mistletoe
at Upper Bullawa Creek,
Mt. Kaputar NP,
some 40 km East of Narrabri, in March 2009. They were found again
in the same valley in June 2020 and in August 2021. In 2022 they
were found at the same location semi-regularly.
M. Eaton reports finding a Black-chinned Honeyeater, race
"gularis",
at Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, in August 2017.
B. Hensen reports finding a Black-chinned Honeyeater, race
"gularis", at
Capertee NP,
near Mudgee, NSW, in October 2015.
R. Plumtreespotted Black-chinned Honeyeaters, race
"gularis", at
Kooyoola State Park, near Inglewood, VIC, in October 2018.
In May 2022 a Black-chinned Honeyeater, race
"gularis",
was found in the gilgais section of
Piliga NP,
South of Wee Waa, NSW. Another was found in the township of Baradine.
Race "laetior"
B. Hensen reports spotting Black-chinned Honeyeaters, race
"laetior",
at Ormiston Gorge, near Alice Springs, NT, in July 2018.
P. Brown found a Black-chinned Honeyeater, race
"laetior",
along the Buntine Highway, western NT, in September 2020.
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Photos |
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Race "gularis"
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ADULT |
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Near-frontal view of an adult Black-chinned Honeyeater, displaying
nicely the eye crescent and the top of the olive-green back; note
also the conspicuous orange-yellow feet
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, March 2009]
Near-lateral view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater, showing both the
black chin and the light-blue eye crescent
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, March 2009]
Lateral view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Capertee NP,
near Mudgee, NSW, October 2015]
Lateral view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater, next to a
Fuscous Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Kooyoola State Park, near Inglewood, VIC, October 2018]
Lateral/ventral view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Kooyoola State Park, near Inglewood, VIC, October 2018]
Lateral/ventral view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater looking for something
under a loose piece of tree bark
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, March 2009]
Race "laetior"
This race is also called the "Golden-backed Honeyeater".
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ADULT |
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Frontal view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Ormiston Gorge, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]
Portrait of a Black-chinned Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Ormiston Gorge, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]
Near-lateral view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Ormiston Gorge, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]
Lateral view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Ormiston Gorge, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]
Lateral view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Buntine Highway, western NT, September 2020]
Dorsal view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Ormiston Gorge, near Alice Springs, NT, July 2018]
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Food, Diet |
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Lateral view of a Black-chinned Honeyeater taking nectar from an
eucalypt
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, August 2021]
Black-chinned Honeyeater on the ground, approaching a water hole,
together with
Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, August 2017]
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Call(s)/Song |
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For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The
interpretation of their meaning is our own; are welcome.
More Black-chinned Honeyeater sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
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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.