Lewin's honeyeater (''Meliphaga lewinii'') is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. It has a semicircular ear-patch, pale yellow in colour. The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist

John Lewin John William Lewin (1770 – 27 August 1819) was an English-born artist active in Australia from 1800. The first professional artist of the colony of New South Wales, he illustrated the earliest volumes of Australian natural history. Many of his ...

Description

The Lewin's honeyeater is small to medium in size . It is dark greenish-grey in colour, with a creamy yellow

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, ...

(i.e., the fleshy corners of the mouth). It has large, yellowish, crescent-shaped ear-patches, which distinguish it from other honeyeaters, apart from two similar, but smaller, species in tropical Queensland. In flight, the pale yellow edges of the flight feathers can be seen. The bill is black and the eye is blue-grey. Both sexes are similar in appearance. Young Lewin's honeyeaters are similar to the adults, but have brown eyes. The strong 'machine gun-like' rattling notes of Lewin's honeyeater are heard over long distances, and reveal its presence in an area. Body size, voice, and the shape and size of the ear-patch help in identifying the similar

Graceful Gracefulness, or being graceful, is the physical characteristic of displaying "pretty agility", in the form of elegant movement, poise, or balance. The etymological root of ''grace'' is the Latin word ''gratia'' from ''gratus'', meaning pleasing ...

and

Yellow-spotted Honeyeater The yellow-spotted honeyeater (''Meliphaga notata'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is also known as the lesser lewin. The bird is endemic to northern Queensland. The bird's common name refers to the yellow patch that membe ...

s in tropical Queensland.

Distribution and habitat

The Lewin's honeyeater prefers the wetter parts of eastern Australia, from northern Queensland to central Victoria. It is found in both rainforest and wet sclerophyll forest, and often wanders into more open woodland. It is a common bird, and its call is often heard in these areas. It is a rather sedentary species, tending to stay in the same area all year round, although some

altitudinal migration Altitudinal migration is a short-distance animal migration from lower altitudes to higher altitudes and back. Altitudinal migrants change their elevation with the seasons making this form of animal migration seasonal. Altitudinal migration can be m ...

, to lower elevations in the cooler winter months, occurs.

Diet

Lewin's honeyeaters feed mostly on fruits, favouring berries and small fruits, but also eat insects and nectar. Birds are normally seen alone, but may form loose groups of up to 10 birds. They feed in the upper branches and on the trunks of trees. Some insects are caught in flight.

Breeding

Lewin's honeyeaters breed during September to January. The nest is a large cup of vegetation and other materials, bound together with spider web, and lined with soft material. The two to three oval eggs are incubated for about 14 days, and the young birds leave the nest after a further 14 days. It is unclear what roles each parent performs in nest building and incubation, but both care for the young birds.

References

* Longmore, N.W. 1991. The Honeyeaters & their Allies of Australia. Angus and Robertson and the

National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife The National Photographic Index of Australian Wildlife was founded as a project of the Australian Museum on 3 June 1969 (as the National Photographic Index of Australian Birds) to compile a comprehensive collection of photographs of Australian bir ...

, Sydney. * Pizzey, G. & Knight, F. 1997. Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Angus and Robertson, Sydney. * Schodde, R. & Mason, I. 1999. The Directory of Australian Birds: Passerines. CSIRO Publishing, Collingwood, Victoria. * Schodde, R. & Tidemann, S.C. (eds) 1990.

Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds The ''Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds'' is a book first published by Reader's Digest Services Pty Ltd of Sydney, Australia in 1976 and reprinted several times, with a completely revised edition issued in 1986. Description The b ...

(2nd Edition). Reader's Digest (Australia) Pty Ltd., Sydney.

External links

Photos, audio and video of Lewin's honeyeater
from

Cornell Lab of Ornithology The Cornell Lab of Ornithology is a member-supported unit of Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, which studies birds and other wildlife. It is housed in the Imogene Powers Johnson Center for Birds and Biodiversity in Sapsucker Woods Sanctuar ...

's Macaulay Library {{Taxonbar, from=Q657063

Lewin's honeyeater Lewin's honeyeater (''Meliphaga lewinii'') is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear-patch, pale yellow in colour. The name of this bird commemorates the Australian artist John Lewin. Descri ...

Birds of Queensland Birds of New South Wales Birds of Victoria (Australia) Endemic birds of Australia

Articles containing video clips