The grey-eared honeyeater (''Lichmera incana''), also known as the dark-brown honeyeater, is a

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by t ...

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...

of the

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 ...

family which is found in

Vanuatu Vanuatu ( or ; ), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (french: link=no, République de Vanuatu; bi, Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is an island country located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is east of no ...

and

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

in the south-west

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. It is sometimes known as the silver-eared honeyeater, but this name is also used for the

silver-eared honeyeater The silver-eared honeyeater (''Lichmera alboauricularis'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in New Guinea. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. Description The Silver-eared honeyeater ...

(''Lichmera alboauricularis'') of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

Description

The grey-eared honeyeater is 13 to 17 cm long with the males being larger than the females. The

plumage Plumage ( "feather") is a layer of feathers that covers a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage differ between species and subspecies and may vary with age classes. Within species, ...

is mainly dull green-brown above and grey with an olive tint below. The cheeks are silvery-grey, and the crown is dark grey. The black

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 ...

is long and slightly downcurved; the legs and feet are blue-grey. Juveniles are paler than the adults without the silvery cheeks. They are noisy birds which begin calling before dawn. They have a harsh ' call and a warbling

song A song is a musical composition intended to be performed by the human voice. This is often done at distinct and fixed pitches (melodies) using patterns of sound and silence. Songs contain various forms, such as those including the repetitio ...

Distribution and habitat

It is a common bird across most of its range and occurs in the lowlands and low hills in a variety of habitats, including forest, scrub,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, 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 evoluti ...

s, and gardens. There are five

subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...

; the nominate subspecies ''L. i. incana'' is found on Grande Terre, the main island of New Caledonia. ''L. i. poliotis'' and ''L. i. mareensis'' are found on the

Loyalty Islands The Loyalty Islands Province ( French ''Province des îles Loyauté'') is one of three administrative subdivisions of New Caledonia encompassing the Loyalty Island (french: Îles Loyauté) archipelago in the Pacific, which are located northeast of ...

to the north-east of New Caledonia. ''L. i. flavotincta'' and ''L. i. griseoviridis'' occur in Vanuatu.

Behaviour

Feeding

Grey-eared honeyeaters feed from the shrub layer up to the canopy, moving from branch to branch in search of flowers from which they take

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

and

pollen Pollen is a powdery substance produced by seed plants. It consists of pollen grains (highly reduced microgametophytes), which produce male gametes (sperm cells). Pollen grains have a hard coat made of sporopollenin that protects the gametophyt ...

. They also feed on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

s and

spider Spiders ( order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...

s, searching among leaves or making short flights into the air to catch them. They will sometimes hover in front of flowers or

spider web A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spid ...

s looking for food.

Reproduction

The

breeding season Seasonal breeders are animal species that successfully mate only during certain times of the year. These times of year allow for the optimization of survival of young due to factors such as ambient temperature, food and water availability, and cha ...

usually lasts from October to February. The

nest A nest is a structure built for certain animals to hold eggs or young. Although nests are most closely associated with birds, members of all classes of vertebrates and some invertebrates construct nests. They may be composed of organic materia ...

is made mainly of

grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos and the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns an ...

and plant fibres, held together by spider webs. It is built in the fork of a branch in a tree or bush. Two

eggs Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...

are laid; these are white with a few reddish spots and are incubated for 14 days. The young birds are fed on insects and spiders and leave the nest after 12 days.

References

* Bregulla, Heinrich L. (1992) ''Birds of Vanuatu'', Anthony Nelson, Oswestry, England. * Doughty, Chris; Nicolas Day, Nicolas & Andrew Plant (1999) ''Birds of the Solomons, Vanuatu & New Caledonia'', Christopher Helm, London.

External links

Photo of a dark-brown honeyeater - Australasian Bird Image Database
{{Taxonbar, from=Q901966

grey-eared honeyeater The grey-eared honeyeater (''Lichmera incana''), also known as the dark-brown honeyeater, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family which is found in Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the south-west Pacific. It is sometimes known as the silver-eare ...

Birds of New Caledonia Birds of Vanuatu