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18

White-cheeked Honeyeater (Phylidonyris nigra) Alternate name(s): "Moustached Honey-eater" Aboriginal name(s): "gouldii": "bandin*" Size: 16-18 cm Weight: 16-25 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 Lewin's Honeyeater Yellow-faced Honeyeater Graceful Honeyeater Bridled Honeyeater Eungella Honeyeater Singing Honeyeater Mangrove Honeyeater Varied Honeyeater White-lined Honeyeater White-gaped Honeyeater White-eared Honeyeater Yellow 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 Brown Honeyeater Bar-breasted Honeyeater Brown-backed Honeyeater Rufous-throated Honeyeater Grey Honeyeater Tawny-crowned Honeyeater Rufous-banded 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 Olive-backed 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 White-cheeked Honeyeaters are small nectar-eating birds. They have long, thin white eyebrows reaching from the frons to far behind the ears and large white cheek patches on the ear coverts. Otherwise the head and throat are black. The front is white with bold black streaking, the back is dark-grey with some white streaking. The flight feathers and the outer tail feathers have bright-yellow edges. This gives the folded wings a bright yellow spot when perched. The tail is grey, with a broad white terminal band on the underside. The irises are dark-brown. The long, slightly down-curved bill is black. The legs and feet are grey. Juveniles have more brownish colours and a yellow gape. Twitcher's tip Compared with New Holland Honeyeaters, they have more white on the cheeks and darker eyes.

Taxonomy, classification See White-cheeked 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 White-cheeked Honeyeater is available HERE . White-cheeked Honeyeaters are endemic to Australia. Of the two races of White-cheeked Honeyeaters, nominate race "nigra" is found along the East coast of Australia, from about Bega, NSW, in the South to about the Whitsundays, QLD, in the North. They only rarely extend their range into the Great Dividing Range. Further North in QLD they are found only in the tablelands, up to just North-West of Townsville, QLD. They are also resident on Flinders and Cape Barren islands in the Bass Strait. Race "gouldii" is resident only in the south-western corner of WA, including Perth. In favourable conditions they can extend their range northwards along the coast to about Geraldton, WA, and northwards from the South coast to almost Kalgoorlie, WA. White-cheeked Honeyeaters can be found in coastal woodland and also heath. They have a preference for banksias. Compared to New Holland Honeyeaters they are usually found in more open vegetation.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "nigra" White-cheeked Honeyeaters, race "nigra", were first seen by us at Royal NP, near Sydney, NSW, in May 2006. Then they were spotted in November 2006 at Dorrigo NP, northern NSW. Subsequently they were found by us and reported by various contributors from many locations along the NSW and QLD coast, spanning from the area of Sydney, NSW, to about the tropic of Capricorn in QLD. R. Russell reports finding a White-cheeked Honeyeater, race "nigra", at Mount Molloy, far North QLD, which is near the northern boundary of this race's range, in February 2010. M. Eaton spotted White-cheeked Honeyeaters, race "nigra", near Yamba, NSW, in January 2021. Race "gouldii" J. Greaves reports spotting White-cheeked Honeyeaters, race "gouldii", at Koondoola Reserve, Perth, WA, in July 2016. C. Pears found a White-cheeked Honeyeater, race "gouldii", in Perth, WA, in March 2022.

Photos

Race "nigra"

ADULT

Sex unknown

This full-frontal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater shows that the cheek tufts can be erected (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, December 2017]

Near-frontal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater
[Sawtell, NSW, August 2015]

Near-frontal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Fraser Island, QLD, September 2018]

Near-frontal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Fleming)
[Arakoon NP, near South West Rocks, NSW, January 2021]

Near-frontal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, January 2011]

Near-lateral view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater (photo courtesy of R. Russell)
[Mount Molloy, QLD, February 2010]

Lateral view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, January 2011]

Lateral view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Near Yamba, NSW, January 2021]

Lateral view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, December 2017]

Lateral view showing a White-cheeked Honeyeater's sticky tongue
[Hat Head NP, NSW, September 2011]

Close inspection of this lateral view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater reveals that they have a split tongue
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Saltwater NP, NSW, February 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Fraser Island, QLD, September 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, December 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Fleming)
[Arakoon NP, near South West Rocks, NSW, January 2021]

Near-frontal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Fraser Island, QLD, September 2018]

Dorsal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, January 2011]

Pair of White-cheeked Honeyeaters (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, December 2017]

Pair of White-cheeked Honeyeaters (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, December 2017]

Race "gouldii"

ADULT

Sex unknown

Lateral view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater on a banksia (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Koondoola Reserve, Perth, WA, July 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater on a banksia (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Koondoola Reserve, Perth, WA, July 2016]

Near-dorsal view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater on a banksia (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Perth, WA, March 2022]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Dispersive

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

White-cheeked Honeyeater claiming its territory from its vantage point on a banksia flower (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Koondoola Reserve, Perth, WA, July 2016]

Food, Diet

Lateral view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater feeding on the nectar of a banksia flower (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Koondoola Reserve, Perth, WA, July 2016]

Lateral view of a White-cheeked Honeyeater feeding on a banksia flower
[Myall Lakes NP, NSW, June 2009]

White-cheeked Honeyeater feeding head down on a banksia flower (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Noosa, QLD, December 2017]

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.

whchhon_20150327_2.mp3	nigra (NE NSW)	Contact call?	© MD
whchhon_20150327.m4a	nigra (NE NSW)	Contact calls?	© MD
whchhon_20150326.m4a	nigra (NE NSW)	Annoyed calls?	© MD
whchhon_20150327_5.m4a	nigra (NE NSW)	Fighting over food source (with Little Wattlebird)	© MD
whchhon_20150327_6.m4a	nigra (NE NSW)	Fighting over food source (with Little Wattlebird)	© MD
whchhon_20140525_3.mp3	nigra (NE NSW)	Various	© MD
whchhon_20140525_7.mp3	nigra (NE NSW)	Various	© MD
whchhon_20150327_4.m4a	nigra (NE NSW)	?	© MD

More White-cheeked 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.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Mon, 21 March 2022, 21:20 +00:00