Banded honeyeater
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Certhionyx pectoralis - Banded Honeyeater.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| parent_authority= Bonaparte, 1854
| taxon = Cissomela pectoralis
| authority = (Gould, 1841)
| synonyms = * Certhionyx pectoralis
}}
The banded honeyeater (Cissomela pectoralis) is a species of honeyeater in the family Meliphagidae with a characteristic narrow black band across its white underparts.{{Cite book|author-link=Peter Menkhorst|last1=Menkhorst|first1=Peter|title=The Australian Bird Guide|last2=Rogers|first2=Danny|last3=Clarke|first3=Rohan|last4=Davies|first4=Jeff|last5=Marsack|first5=Peter|last6=Franklin|first6=Kim|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|year=2017|isbn=978-0643097544|location=Clayton, Vic|pages=392–393}} It is endemic to tropical northern Australia.
Taxonomy and systematics
The scientific name for the banded honeyeater is Cissomela pectoralis (Gould, 1841).{{Cite book|author-link=John Gould|last=Gould|first=John|title=The Birds of Australia : in seven volumes|publisher=Published by the author|year=1848|location=London|pages=168–178}} The holotype was Holotype ANSP 18224 male, Australia: north coast, held in the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University, Philadelphia.{{Cite web|url=https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/Certhionyx_(Certhionyx)_pectoralis|title=Species Certhionyx (Certhionyx) pectoralis (Gould, 1841)|website=Australian Faunal Directory|language=en|access-date=2020-04-15}}
The banded honeyeater was previously placed in the genus Certhionyx, but was moved to the monotypic genus Cissomela after a molecular phylogenetic analysis, published in 2011, showed that the original genus was polyphyletic.{{cite journal|last1=Nyári|first1=Á.S.|last2=Joseph|first2=L.|year=2011|title=Systematic dismantlement of Lichenostomus improves the basis for understanding relationships within the honeyeaters (Meliphagidae) and historical development of Australo–Papuan bird communities|journal=Emu|volume=111|issue=3|pages=202–211|doi=10.1071/mu10047|s2cid=85333285}}{{cite web|url=http://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/honeyeaters/|title=Honeyeaters|editor1-last=Gill|editor1-first=Frank|editor2-last=Donsker|editor2-first=David|work=World Bird List Version 6.1|publisher=International Ornithologists' Union|access-date=28 January 2016}}
The genus name Cissomela (Bonaparte, 1854){{Cite journal|last=Bonaparte|first=C.L.|date=1854|title=Conspectus systematis ornithologiae|journal=Comptes Rendus de l'Académie des Sciences, Série D |volume=38|pages=260, 264}} means "honey magpie" from the Greek kissa for 'magpie', thus referring to the black and white colouring, and mela meaning 'honey' for its feeding habits. The specific epithet pectoralis comes from the Latin pectoris for 'breast', referring to the distinctive banded breast of this bird.{{Cite book|author-link=Ian Fraser (naturalist)|last1=Fraser|first1=Ian|title=Australian Bird Names: Origins and Meanings|last2=Gray|first2=Jeannie|publisher=CSIRO Publishing|year=2019|isbn=9781486311637|location=Clayton South, Vic|pages=183, 188}}
Description
The banded honeyeater is a small, pied honeyeater with a distinctive black breast band across white underparts.{{Cite book|author-link=Peter Slater (ornithologist)|last1=Slater|first1=Peter|title=The Slater Field Guide to Australian Birds|last2=Slater|first2=Pat|last3=Slater|first3=Raoul|publisher=Reed New Holland|year=2009|isbn=9781877069635|edition=2nd|location=London, Sydney, Auckland|pages=210–211}} It has a black back, tail and head, a long curved bill and long legs.
It has a wingspan of {{convert|12|-|14|cm|in|abbr=on}}, the bill measures {{convert|14|-|18|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}, the body length is {{convert|11.5|-|13.5|cm|in|abbr=on}} and it weighs {{convert|8|-|13|g|oz|1|abbr=on}}.
Behaviour and ecology
The IUCN Red List rating, the [https://nt.gov.au/environment/animals/classification-of-wildlife Northern Territory Conservation Status] and [https://www.data.qld.gov.au/dataset/conservation-status-of-queensland-wildlife Queensland Conservation Status] for this species is Least Concern (LC).{{Cite web|url=https://bie.ala.org.au/species/urn:lsid:biodiversity.org.au:afd.taxon:4ece9fe5-5707-4b08-b20e-ed9929bc32c6|title=Species: Certhionyx (Certhionyx) pectoralis (Banded Honeyeater)|last=Australia|first=Atlas of Living|website=bie.ala.org.au|language=en-AU|access-date=2020-04-15}}
The banded honeyeater inhabits tropical grassy woodland, open forests, mangroves and Melaleuca swamps. It feeds on the nectar of eucalypts and some other open flowers, such as Grevilleas, paperbarks and Bauhinias, plus insects. It usually moves in pairs or small groups, but large groups can gather when blossom is plentiful. It is a blossom nomad or can have seasonal movements in various parts of its range, which is restricted to tropical northern Australia.
Gallery
File:Banded Honeyeater.jpg|Illustration of five Meliphagidae species from the Companion to Gould's Handbook; banded honeyeater top left
File:Banded Honeyeater A.jpg|Banded honeyeater, Parry's Lagoon near Wyndham, WA, 2019
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Passeriformes|Pa.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q572777}}
Category:Birds of the Northern Territory
Category:Endemic birds of Australia