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Australian Wildlife

  Black-headed Honeyeater (Melithreptus affinis)





Black-headed Honeyeater | Melithreptus affinis photo
Black-headed Honeyeater

Photograph copyright: Nickolay Tilcheff - all rights reserved. Used with permission.

Black-headed Honeyeater | Melithreptus affinis photo
Black-headed Honeyeater

Photograph copyright: Nickolay Tilcheff - all rights reserved. Used with permission.







BIRD FACTS

Description
A small honeyeater with a short downcurved bill. Adults have an obvious black hood, white around the eye and no white band across the back of the neck. Black hood extends to form a black shoulder stripe. Back is olive green with brown wings and grey belly. Tail is brown.

This Tasmanian endemic builds a deep cup-shaped nest suspended from horizontal branches. It mostly feeds in the tree canopy on insects, nectar and fruit and can occur in flocks of 10-20 birds. Usually three eggs are laid. Nests of this species are sometimes parasitized by cuckoos.

Author credit: Kathryn Medlock / Tasmanian Museum & Art Gallery

Habitat
Mature dry sclerophyll forest with a dense undergrowth of shrubs, heath and grasses.

Food
Nectar

Range
Tasmania

distribution map showing range of Melithreptus affinis in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.


Species Description is from Museums Field Guide, Atlas of Living Australia at website at https://lists.ala.org.au Licensed under Creative Commons Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.




Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Passeriformes
Family:Meliphagidae
Genus:Melithreptus
Species:affinis
Common Name:Black-headed Honeyeater

Relatives in same Genus
  White-throated Honeyeater (M. albogularis)
  Black-chinned Honeyeater (M. gularis)
  White-naped Honeyeater (M. lunatus)
  Strong-billed Honeyeater (M. validirostris)