The strong-billed honeyeater (''Melithreptus validirostris'') 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 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 ...

. It is one of two species of the genus '' Melithreptus''

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 ...

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. 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 ...

temperate forest A temperate forest is a forest found between the tropical and boreal regions, located in the temperate zone. It is the second largest biome on our planet, covering 25% of the world's forest area, only behind the boreal forest, which covers abou ...

Taxonomy

The strong-billed honeyeater was first described by ornithologist

John Gould John Gould (; 14 September 1804 – 3 February 1881) was an English ornithologist. He published a number of monographs on birds, illustrated by plates produced by his wife, Elizabeth Gould, and several other artists, including Edward Lear, ...

in 1837. Its specific name is derived 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 ...

words ''validus'' 'strong', and ''rostrum'' 'bill'. It is a member of the genus '' Melithreptus'', with several species of similar size and (apart from the brown-headed honeyeater) black-headed appearance, in 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,

. Molecular markers show that the strong-billed honeyeater separated from the common ancestor of the brown-headed and

black-chinned honeyeater The black-chinned honeyeater (''Melithreptus gularis'') is a species of passerine bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia. Two subspecies are recognised. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and subtropical or tropical d ...

s between 6.7 and 3.4 million years ago. The next closest relative outside the genus is the much larger, but similarly marked,

blue-faced honeyeater The blue-faced honeyeater (''Entomyzon cyanotis''), also colloquially known as the bananabird, is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It is the only member of its genus, and it is most closely related to honeyeaters of t ...

. More recently, DNA analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes),

Acanthizidae The Acanthizidae—known as Australian warblers—are a family of passerine birds which includes gerygones, the thornbills '' Acanthiza'', and the scrubwrens of '' Sericornis''. The Acanthizidae family consists of small to medium passerine birds, ...

(Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and the

Maluridae The Australasian wrens are a family (biology), family, Maluridae, of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. While commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the wren, true wrens. The family comprises 32 spec ...

(Australian fairy-wrens) in the large superfamily

Meliphagoidea __NOTOC__ Meliphagoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. They contain a vast diversity of small to mid-sized songbirds widespread in the Austropacific region. The Australian Continent has the largest richness in genera and species. Systemati ...

Description

A mid-sized honeyeater at 16.5–17.5 cm (6.5–7 in) in length, it is olive-brown above and pale grey-brown below, with a black head, nape and throat, a pale blue to off-white patch over the eye, and a white crescent on the nape. Juveniles have brownish crowns, lemon-tinged nape, and an orange base of bill. Its call is a loud ''cheep cheep'', or a churring.

Ecology

The strong-billed honeyeater is found in mature forest with large trees, such as ''

Eucalyptus regnans ''Eucalyptus'' () is a genus of over seven hundred species of flowering trees, shrubs or mallees in the myrtle family, Myrtaceae. Along with several other genera in the tribe Eucalypteae, including ''Corymbia'', they are commonly known as eucal ...

'' and '' E. delegatensis''. Its diet is principally insects and various other invertebrates, which it hunts on tree trunks, supplemented by nectar and fallen fruit. Although both species are widespread in Tasmania, the Strong-billed rarely overlaps in site and foraging with the

black-headed honeyeater The black-headed honeyeater (''Melithreptus affinis'') is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is one of two members of the genus ''Melithreptus'' endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitats are temperate forest and Mediterranean-type ...

Breeding

Strong-billed honeyeaters may nest from September to January, breeding once or twice during this time. The nest is a thick-walled bowl of grasses and bits of bark in the fork of a tall tree, usually a eucalypt. Two or three eggs are laid, 22 x 17 mm in size, and shiny, buff-pink, sparsely spotted with red-brown.

References

External links

Image at ADW
{{Taxonbar, from=Q1591323 strong-billed honeyeater Endemic birds of Tasmania strong-billed honeyeater Taxonomy articles created by Polbot