18

Fuscous Honeyeater (Ptilotula fusca) Size: 15-17 cm Body mass: 13-24 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 Fuscous Honeyeaters are small nectar-eating birds. They have an all-grey front from throat to vent. The undertail coverts and undertail are somewhat darker grey. The top of the head is also darker grey, with a brownish tinge. During the breeding season there are thin black rings around the eyes, which are in turn surrounded by dark-grey patches. When not breeding, the eye rings turn yellow. Behind the ear coverts, Fuscous Honeyeaters have a small black and a larger (but still small) yellow plume. The back is olive-grey, with flight feathers that have olive-green leading edges. The irises are dark. The slightly down-curved bill is black, with a thin yellow gape. The legs and feet are grey. Immature Fuscous Honeyeaters resemble adults in non-breeding plumage, with a yellow gape and base of the bill. Juveniles are similar to immature Fuscous Honeyeaters, but with a brownish bill.

Taxonomy, classification See Fuscous Honeyeater at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information The classification of Australian honeyeater species, mainly in the genus "Lichenostomus", has undergone a major revision, with many species now moved into several newly defined genera (Gavicalis, Stomiopera, Ptilotula, Nesoptilotis).

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 Fuscous Honeyeater is available HERE . Fuscous Honeyeaters are endemic to eastern Australia. Of the two races of Fuscous Honeyeater, race "subgermanus" is found only in tropical QLD, in a wide (near-)coastal strip including the hills of the Great Dividing Range, from about Cairns, QLD, in the North to about Rockhampton, QLD, in the South. Nominate race "fusca" lives to the South of Rockhampton, in the Great Dividing Range and the (near-)coastal fringe of southern QLD and all through NSW (except the lower Hunter), well into the ranges of central VIC. In some years they extend their range into the Murray River catchment, but are not found along the South coast. Fuscous Honeyeaters will not venture out into the plains in either northern NSW or QLD. Fuscous Honeyeaters are usually found in open forest and woodland. We often see them in cypress pines hunting for insects.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "fusca" Fuscous Honeyeaters, race "fusca", do not appear on the open plains, West of the Nandewar Range in northern NSW. We spotted them for the first time in January 2006, at Sawn Rocks, Mt. Kaputar NP, near Narrabri, NSW. Later they were also seen further South, near Barraba, NSW, and also spotted in the same area in October 2006. R. Druce also spotted Fuscous Honeyeaters, race "fusca", in Leard State Forest, near Maules Creek, NSW, in October 2012. Since 2007 we spot Fuscous Honeyeaters, race "fusca", regularly on the western fringes of the Great Dividing Range, e.g. in Mt. Kaputar NP and in Deriah Aboriginal Area, in the foothills of the Nandewar Range. Fuscous Honeyeaters were also spotted by us at Capertee NP, near Mudgee, NSW, in December 2015. C. Hayne reports spotting a Fuscous Honeyeater, race "fusca", at West Goondiwindi, QLD, in June 2014. We also found Fuscous Honeyeaters, race "fusca", at Oxley Wild Rivers NP, NSW, in August 2015. M. Eaton reports finding Fuscous Honeyeaters, race "fusca", at Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, in August 2017, and at Lake Coolmundra, QLD, in May 2018. R. Plumtree reports spotting a Fuscous Honeyater, race "fusca", in Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, and in Inglewood SF, VIC, in September 2018. Race "subgermanus" J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports spotting a Fuscous Honeyater, race "subgermanus", at Wondecla, Atherton Tablelands, QLD, in July 2020.

Photos

Race "fusca"

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Near-frontal view of an adult Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding plumage
[Near Narrabri, NSW, October 2011]

Near-lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding plumage looking sideways while approaching a waterhole
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, August 2017]

Close-up lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding plumage
[Near Narrabri, NSW, October 2011]

Lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater banking to land (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, September 2018]

NON-BREEDING

Near-lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in non-breeding plumage approaching a rocky waterhole
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, March 2009]

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]

Dorsal view of a Fuscous Honeyeater taking psyllids off the underside of eucalypt leaves
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, October 2008]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Fuscous Honeyeater looking sideways; note the orange bill with yellow gape and dark tip and the thin yellow eye-ring (photo courtesy of C. Hayne)
[West Goondiwindi, QLD, June 2014]

Near-frontal view of a juvenile Fuscous Honeyeater looking sideways; the typical yellowish gape of the otherwise orange bill and the fine yellow eye-ring are clearly visible
[Near Barraba, NSW, January 2006]

Lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Fuscous Honeyeater with its tongue sticking out
[Near Barraba, NSW, January 2006]

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 looking sideways (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Leard State Forest, near Maules Creek, NSW, October 2012]

Frontal view of a fledgling Fuscous Honeyeater; note the orange bill ending in a brownish tip and the still growing tail feathers
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, October 2013]

Race "subgermanus"

ADULT

Sex unknown

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]

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

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]

Fuscous Honeyeater nest high up in the crown of a eucalypt
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, September 2024]

Dorsal view of a Fuscous Honeyeater harvesting spider webs for binding its nest
[Mt. Kaputar NP, NSW, September 2024]

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

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. It is unknown to us what kind of food they may find there.

Similar to other honeyeaters, Fuscous Honeyeaters have well-defined limits to their range, i.e. a strong preference for certain types of (well-wooded) habitats. 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.

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.

Lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding plumage feeding on nectar (photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Ensay, East Gippsland, VIC, September 2018]

Near-lateral view of a Fuscous Honeyeater feeding on nectar of a bottlebrush
[Near Narrabri, NSW, July 2020]

Near-frontal view of an immature Fuscous Honeyeater and a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater hawking for insects from a Casuarina, 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]

Lateral view of 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]

Near-dorsal view of a Fuscous Honeyeater in breeding plumage, right, and Brown Honeyeater at a waterhole
[Mt. Kaputar NP, near Narrabri, NSW, October 2018]

Dorsal view of a Fuscous Honeyeater and a White-eared Honeyeater drinking from a waterhole
[Near Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, December 2019]

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_20230909.mp3	fusca (NW NSW)	Contact call (with lead-up)	© MD
fuschon_20200529.m4a	fusca (NW NSW)	(Extended?) contact call	© MD
fuschon_20230909_2.mp3	fusca (NW NSW)	Territorial calls	© MD
fuschon_20230909_3.mp3	fusca (NW NSW)	Territorial calls	© 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_20240430_2.m4a	fusca (NW NSW)	Feeding calls(?); juvenile "lerping"	© MD
fuschon_20240430.m4a	fusca (NW NSW)	Feeding calls(?); juvenile "lerping"	© 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 .

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.