The spotted honeyeater (''Xanthotis polygrammus'') is a species of

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 ...

in the family Meliphagidae.

Taxonomy and systematics

The Spotted Honeyeater was described by the English zoologist George Robert Gray in 1862. Its scientific name, ''Xanthotis polygrammus,'' is from Ancient Greek ξανθος ''xanthos'' (“yellow”) and πολυγραμμος ''polugrammos'' (“white-streaked”).

Subspecies

Six subspecies recognized: * ''Xanthonis polygrammus polygrammus'' - Geographic range: Waigeo, in West Papuan. * ''Xanthotis polygrammus kuehni'' - Geographic range:

Misool Misool, formerly spelled Mysol (Dutch: Misoöl) or Misol, is one of the four major islands in the Raja Ampat Islands in Southwest Papua, Indonesia. Its area is 2,034 km2. The highest point is 561 m and the main towns are Waigama, located ...

, in West Papuan. * ''Xanthotis polygrammus poikilosternos'' - Geographic range: Salawati and mountains of NW and W

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 ...

. * ''Xanthotis polygrammus septentrionalis'' - Geographic range: Mountains of N New Guinea from Mamberamo R E, including Foja Mts, Cyclops Mts, and mountains of Sepik R region, to Adelbert Mts. * ''Xanthotis polygrammus lophotis'' - Geographic range: Mountains of Huon Peninsula and SE New Guinea. * ''Xanthotis polygrammus candidior'' - Geographic range: S New Guinea.

Description

This bird is a medium-small honeyeater that measures around 15 to 17 cm. In the lophotis race, the males weigh between 19.7 to 23.5 g, and females weigh around 18-19.5 g. The bird has a "moderately long and slightly curved bill". The bird has a dark head and neck with white spots on the back of the neck. It has a pink ring of facial skin around its eye. The honeyeater’s back is dark with small white spots on it. Its stomach is white with a lime tint, and dark patterns and spots on it. The tail is a mix between brown and gray. The feathers under the wings are white. The bird has a white throat, black bill, and gray legs. The Males and females look the same, but males are a bit larger. The facial skin around its eye and dark patterns along its body really help this bird be identifiable.

Distribution and habitat

It is found in

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

and

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...

. Its natural

habitat In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...

is subtropical or tropical moist lowland

forest 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' ...

Diet

The diet of the spotted Honeyeater consists primarily of insects, worms, and other

invertebrates Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

which they forage in vegetation from the understory; but the Spotted Honeyeater also eats “nectar and fruit such as

figs The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

” that they find in the canopy and flowering plants. 97 Observations were recorded from a lowland forest; 49% of which observed that the bird’s foraging occurred in the understory; Majority of which is between ground level and two meters above. Other observations saw the birds forage in the upper canopy (37%). The observations showed the birds were forage less in the subcanopy (7%) and lower canopy (7%). The birds are usually seen foraging alone, and rarely in pairs or small groups.

Sounds and vocal behavior

The Spotted Honeyeater is usually very quiet, but can be noisy in small groups. The whistles consist of two distinct sounds repeated many times, commonly described as “"wu-déé," and occasionally a “tup” in a descending pattern.

Conversation status

The Spotted Honeyeater has been assessed for ''

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biologi ...

'' in 2018 listed as least concern. The species has a large range which makes it not possible to approach the thresholds to be listed for vulnerable. Although the population size has not been estimated, there are no signs of decrease and the population trend tends to be stable. BirdLife International. 2018. ''Xanthotis polygrammus''. ''The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species'' 2018: e.T22704103A130253838. . Accessed on 23 October 2023.

References

Xanthotis Birds described in 1861 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot {{Meliphagidae-stub