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Brown-backed Honeyeater (Ramsayornis modestus) Alternate name(s): "Unadorned Honeyeater", "Modest Honeyeater" Size: 11-13 cm Body mass: 11-14 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 Brown-backed Honeyeaters are very small nectar-eating birds with very inconspicuous plumage. Apart from a small white moustachial stripe under the eyes, the top of the head and the entire back are slightly scalloped dull-brown. The base colour of the entire front is off-white. Adults have a lightly scalloped chest, while juvenile/immature Brown-backed Honeyeaters have more prominent brown streaks, rather than barring/scalloping, down the chest. Chin and lores of juveniles are pale-buff. The irises are dark-brown; bill, legs and feet are greyish-pink.

Taxonomy, classification See Brown-backed 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 Brown=backed Honeyeater is available HERE . Brown Honeyeaters are found on Cape York peninsula in Australia, on islands along Torres Strait and in Guinea, with individual reports from as far to the West as West Papua, Indonesia. In Australia Brown-backed Honeyeaters populate large parts of Cape York peninsula. Towards the South, they can be found as far as about Mackay, QLD. Brown-backed Honeyeaters have a preference for paperbark thickets near swamps and for mangrove.

Sightings Click here for sighting information R. Russell reports spotting a Brown-backed Honeyeater at Mount Molloy, QLD, in December 2009. B. Hensen reports finding a Brown-backed Honeyeater at Kingfisher Park, Julatten, QLD, in November 2018. M. Eaton spotted a Brown-backed Honeyeater at Cattana Wetlands, Cairns, QLD, along the Daintree River, QLD, in November 2018, and in Lakefield NP, Cape York peninsula, QLD, in August 2019. Others were found at Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, in September 2020 and again in August 2023. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports finding a Brown-backed Honeyeater at Thala Beach Nature Reserve, near Oak Beach, QLD, in October 2020. Others were found at Julatten, QLD, in October 2023. C. Linfoot spotted a Brown-backed Honeyeater at Hervey Range, near Townsville, QLD, in January 2023. This location is near the southern end of the species' range.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

Near-frontal view of a Brown-backed Honeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cattana Wetlands, Cairns, QLD, November 2018]

Near-frontal view of a Brown-backed Honeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Cattana Wetlands, Cairns, QLD, November 2018]

Near-frontal view of a Brown-backed Honeater approaching a water bowl (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Kingfisher Park, Julatten, QLD, in November 2018]

Near-frontal view of a Brown-backed Honeater approaching a water bowl (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Kingfisher Park, Julatten, QLD, in November 2018]

Lateral view of a Brown-backed Honeater drinking from a water bowl (photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Mount Molloy, QLD, December 2009]

Dorsal view of a Brown-backed Honeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, August 2023]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of an immature(?) Brown-backed Honeater; note the already scalloped/barred chest of an adult, but the still buff-coloured chin and moustachial stripe (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, October 2023]

Lateral view of an immature(?) Brown-backed Honeater (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, October 2023]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Brown-backed Honeater; note buff-coloured chin and moustachial stripe and the pale bill
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Julatten, QLD, October 2023]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Mar

Eggs: 2 - 3

Incubation period: 15 days

Fledging age: 14 - 15 days

Nest building: ?

Incubation: Female

Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Hanging domed basket

Material: Paperbark strips, flakes, grass, webs

Height above ground: 2 - 4 m

Brown-backed Honeyeater nests are usually built hanging from thin outer branches, overhanging water. In ideal conditions Brown-backed Honeyeaters can nest semi-colonially.

Brown-backed Honeater at its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, August 2023]

Brown-backed Honeater bringing a paperbark strip for its nest (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree, QLD, October 2022]

Brown-backed Honeater nest still under construction, with its owner nearby (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Daintree River, QLD, December 2018]

Brown-backed Honeater working on its nest, which is still lacking its outer layer and dome (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Daintree River, QLD, December 2018]

Brown-backed Honeater collecting material for its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, September 2020]

Brown-backed Honeater collecting material for its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, September 2020]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 20 x 14 mm

Colour: Creamy, with sparse light-brown speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Food, Diet

Near-frontal view of a Brown-backed Honeater wondering: "Hmmm. Carbs or protein?" (photo courtesy of C. Linfoot)
[Hervey Range, near Townsville, QLD, January 2023]

Near-frontal view of a Brown-backed Honeater taking nectar (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Thala Beach Nature Reserve, near Oak Beach, QLD, October 2020]

Near-frontal view of a Brown-backed Honeater at a food source (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Thala Beach Nature Reserve, near Oak Beach, QLD, October 2020]

Lateral view of a Brown-backed Honeater taking nectar from a Callistemon (bottlebrush) (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Tyto Wetlands, Ingham, QLD, August 2023]

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.

brbkhon_me_20230814.mp3

(N QLD)

Dawn chorus (+ Bar-shouldered Dove)

© ME

More Brown-backed 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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