The bridled honeyeater (''Bolemoreus frenatus'') is a species of bird in the family

Meliphagidae The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, miners and melidectes. They are most common in Australia and New Guinea ...

with distinctive rein-like markings on its face that is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to northeastern

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

. It is found in subtropical or tropical moist upland

forests A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

and subtropical or tropical

rainforests Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainforest ...

, usually above 300 meters. In winter, it descends to lower forests including

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline or brackish water. The term is also used for tropical coastal vegetation consisting of such species. Mangroves are taxonomically diverse, as a result of convergent evolution in several ...

, and can sometimes be seen in more open habitats.

Description

The bridled honeyeater is a medium to large dusky

honeyeater The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family (biology), family, Meliphagidae, of small to medium-sized birds. The family includes the Epthianura, Australian chats, myzomelas, friarbirds, wattlebirds, Manorina, miners and melidectes. They are ...

with a white

gape The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food ...

and bicoloured

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

. It has a blue eye with a yellow line below and white line behind, a yellow tuft on ear and a large, white-grey patch on the side of the neck.

Taxonomy and systematics

The scientific name for the bridled honeyeater is ''Bolemoreus frenatus'' (Ramsay, 1874). Initially designated ''Ptilotis frenata'' Ramsay, E.P. 1874, then ''Lichenostomus frenatus'' and lastly ''Bolemoreus frenatus.'' Both the bridled honeyeater and Eungella honeyeater were previously placed in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Lichenostomus ''Lichenostomus'' is a genus of honeyeaters endemic to Australia. The genus formerly contained twenty species but it was split after a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2011 showed that the genus was polyphyletic. Former members were ...

'', but were moved to '' Bolemoreus'' after a

molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...

analysis, published in 2011, showed that the original genus was not a natural unit. The bird belongs to the family ''Meliphagidae''. The

Australian Museum The Australian Museum is a heritage-listed museum at 1 William Street, Sydney central business district, New South Wales, Australia. It is the oldest museum in Australia,Design 5, 2016, p.1 and the fifth oldest natural history museum in the ...

holds

syntypes In biological nomenclature, a syntype is any one of two or more biological types that is listed in a description of a taxon where no holotype was designated. Precise definitions of this and related terms for types have been established as part of ...

for this species numbered AM O.18560 an adult female, AM O.18561 adult male and AM O.18562 adult female all found in the Cardwell area of

. The genus name, ''Bolemoreus'', was created in 2011 and derives from "Boles and Longmore's bird" which honours Walter Boles and N. Wayne Longmore two Australian ornithologists. The species name, ''frenatus'', was proposed by Ramsay from the

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

for bridle or reins referring to the markings on the face and base of bill.

Behaviour and ecology

The bridled honeyeater is found in upland

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

and wet

eucalypt Eucalypt is a descriptive name for woody plants with capsule fruiting bodies belonging to seven closely related genera (of the tribe Eucalypteae) found across Australasia: ''Eucalyptus'', '' Corymbia'', '' Angophora'', ''Stockwellia'', ''Allosyn ...

forest above an altitude of 300 metres in the Atherton region, north-east Queensland, Australia. The range extends from the Bloomfield- Mt Amos area south to Mt Spec. Some birds move to lower altitude in Winter. The population is considered to be stable with no identified threats or declines. Population isn't quantified although it is considered common in some parts of its range. When trees are fruiting or flowering the honeyeater may gather in large, quarrelsome flocks but they are otherwise solitary and elusive.

Gallery

File:Bridled honeyeater.jpg Bridled honeyeater 4638.jpg, Julatten, north Queensland, Australia.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q27075230 bridled honeyeater Birds of Queensland Endemic birds of Australia bridled honeyeater Taxonomy articles created by Polbot