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Fuscous HoneyeaterSize: 15-17 cm Weight: 13-24 g |
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Similar |
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See Fuscous
Honeyeater at Wikipedia ![]() |
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Photos |
Race "fusca"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
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BREEDING |
Frontal view of an adult Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding
plumage
[Near Narrabri, NSW, October 2011]
Near-frontal view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding
plumage
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, August 2008]
Lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding
plumage
[Near Narrabri, NSW, October 2011]
Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding plumage approaching a
waterhole (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, August 2017]
Lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater banking to land
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, September 2018]
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NON-BREEDING |
Lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in non-breeding
plumage;
note the yellowish gape and base of the bill and the (albeit
inconspicuous) yellowish eye-ring (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Leard State Forest, near
Maules Creek, NSW, October 2012]
Near-dorsal view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in non-breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lake Coolmundra, QLD, May 2018]
Fuscous Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage approaching a rocky
waterhole
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, March 2009]
Some Fuscous Honeyeater acrobatics
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, October 2008]
Lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater; this is one of the birds whose
calls were recorded
on 22 November 2014
[Leard State Forest, NSW, November 2014]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Frontal view of a juvenile Fuscous Honeyeater; note the yellow
bill with dark tip and the thin yellow eye-ring (photo courtesy
of C. Hayne)
[West Goondiwindi, QLD, June 2014]
Immature Fuscous Honeyeater; here the typical yellowish base of
the bill and fine yellow eye-ring are clearly visible; a larger
fraction of the bill is yellowish and in adult birds and the
colour is brighter, with an orange tint
[Near Barraba, NSW, January 2006]
The same Fuscous Honeyeater as above, with its tongue sticking out
[Near Barraba, NSW, January 2006]
Frontal view of a juvenile Fuscous Honeyeater; this is one of the birds
whose calls were recorded
on 22 November 2014
[Leard State Forest, NSW, November 2014]
Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Fuscous Honeyeater (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Leard State Forest, near
Maules Creek, NSW, October 2012]
Dorsal view of a juvenile Fuscous Honeyeater (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Leard State Forest, near
Maules Creek, NSW, October 2012]
Frontal view of a fledgling Fuscous Honeyeater; note the yellowish
bill ending in a brownish tip and the still growing tail feathers
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, October 2013]
Race "subgermanus"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
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BREEDING |
Near-lateral/ventral view of an adult Fuscous Honeyeater in
breeding plumage
(photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Wondecla, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, July 2020]
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Breeding information |
Breeding season: Jul - Jan | Eggs: 2 - 3 | Incubation period: ca. 14 days | Fledging age: ca. 15 days |
Nest building: ? | Incubation: Female & male | Dependent care: Female & male |
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal] |
Type: Suspended basket | Material: Grass stems, bark strips, webs; fine grass, wool or fur lining | Height above ground: 1 - 15 m |
Fuscous Honeyeater on its nest; note the all-black bill and
eye-ring indicative of breeding
plumage
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Capertee Valley, NSW, September 2012]
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Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay] |
Size: 20 x 15 mm | Colour: Light-brown, with mid-brown speckles | Shape: Tapered oval |
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Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Territorial | Mobility: Dispersive | Elementary unit: Solitary/pair |
Fuscous Honeyeaters are the only honeyeaters observed by us so far foraging on bare soil, see photo. It is unknown to us what kind of food they find there.
Fuscous Honeyeater on a hardened dirt road, where it was seen
picking at the soil
[April 2009]
Similar to other honeyeaters, Fuscous Honeyeaters have well-defined limits to their range. We have seen a Fuscous Honeyeater only once yet (in May 2014) at Eulah Creek, 20 km East of Narrabri, just 5-10 km further inland than the bushland of Deriah Aboriginal Area and the Nandewar Range, where they are common to abundant.
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Food, Diet |
Adults: Nectar, insects | Dependents: Insects | Water intake: Daily |
Like many other honeyeaters, Fuscous Honeyeaters do not exclusively feed on nectar, but take insects too.
Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding plumage feeding on nectar
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, September 2018]
Fuscous Honeyeater feeding on the nectar of a
Mistletoe
[Near Maules Creek, NSW, March 2013]
Lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding
plumage
searching for insects
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, August 2008]
The same Fuscous Honeyeater as above, slightly different viewing angle,
with incredibly different colour perception; now a lot more
of the typical olive-green of many honeyeater species can
be seen
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, August 2008]
Non-breeding Fuscous Honeyeater feeding on nectar of a lemon-scented
eucalypt; this
bird's call was
recorded on 11 May 2014
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2014]
Fuscous Honeyeater feeding on nectar of a
bottlebrush
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2020]
Immature Fuscous Honeyeater and Yellow-tufted Honeyeater hawking
for insects from a Casuarina tree, together with more
birds of the same species and with
Singing Honeyeaters and
White-plumed Honeyeaters,
all hunting out of the one tree
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, December 2012]
Fuscous Honeyeaters in breeding plumage drinking water from a
waterhole; in the background a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, August 2017]
Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding plumage, right, and
Brown Honeyeater
at a waterhole
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
near Narrabri, NSW, October 2018]
Fuscous Honeyeater and
White-eared Honeyeater
drinking from a waterhole
[Near Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2019]
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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.
fuschon_20190804_2.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Contact call | © MD | |
fuschon_20200529.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
(Extended?) contact call | © MD | |
fuschon_20141122_2.mp3 |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Q&A | © MD | |
fuschon_20200719.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Territorial calls | © MD | |
fuschon_20150817_2.m4a |
fusca (N NSW) |
Extended territorial call(?) | © MD | |
fuschon_20220806.m4a |
fusca (N NSW) |
Extended territorial calls(?) | © MD | |
fuschon_20210521.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Extended territorial calls(?) | © MD | |
fuschon_20210521_2.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Extended territorial calls(?) | © MD | |
fuschon_20161024_2.mp3 |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Pre-dawn call (repeated many times) | © MD | |
fuschon_20150817.m4a |
fusca (N NSW) |
Alarm calls (raptor) + territorial calls | © MD | |
fuschon_20200719_3.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Squabbling | © MD | |
fuschon_20200719_2.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Various | © MD | |
fuschon_20190804.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Various | © MD | |
fuschon_20150817_3.m4a |
fusca (N NSW) |
Various | © MD | |
fuschon_20150817_4.m4a |
fusca (N NSW) |
Various | © MD | |
fuschon_20150905.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
Various | © MD | |
fuschon_20181008.m4a |
fusca (NW NSW) |
? | © MD |
More Fuscous Honeyeater sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.