white-naped honeyeater
{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2022}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = White-naped honeyeater
| image = Melithreptus lunatus.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| taxon = Melithreptus lunatus
| authority = (Vieillot, 1802)
}}
The white-naped honeyeater (Melithreptus lunatus) is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to eastern Australia. Birds from southwestern Australia have been shown to be a distinct species, Gilbert's honeyeater, and the eastern birds are more closely related to the black-headed honeyeater of Tasmania. One of several similar species of black-headed honeyeaters in the genus Melithreptus, it dwells in dry sclerophyll eucalypt woodland. Its diet consists of nectar from various flowers, and it also feeds on insects.
Taxonomy
The white-naped honeyeater was originally described as Certhia lunata by French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1802.Vieillot, L.P. (1802). Oiseaux dorés au a reflets metalliques. (published in 32 parts). Paris Vol. 2 [95]. The specific epithet is derived from the Latin luna, meaning 'moon'; this refers to the crescent-shaped, white marking on its nape. 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 family, Meliphagidae. The next closest relative outside the genus is the much larger, but similarly marked, blue-faced honeyeater.{{cite journal | doi = 10.1016/j.ympev.2003.10.017 | last1 = Driskell | first1 = A.C. | last2 = Christidis | first2 = L | year = 2004 | title = Phylogeny and evolution of the Australo-Papuan honeyeaters (Passeriformes, Meliphagidae) | journal = Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution | volume = 31 | issue = 3| pages = 943–960 | pmid = 15120392 }} More recently, DNA analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae (Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and the Maluridae (Australian fairy-wrens) in the large superfamily Meliphagoidea.{{cite journal | doi = 10.1073/pnas.0401892101 | last1 = Barker | first1 = F.K. | last2 = Cibois | first2 = A. | last3 = Schikler | first3 = P. | last4 = Feinstein | first4 = J. | last5 = Cracraft | first5 = J | year = 2004 | title = Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation | journal = Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA | volume = 101 | issue = 30| pages = 11040–11045 | pmid=15263073 | pmc=503738| bibcode = 2004PNAS..10111040B | doi-access = free }}
Gilbert's honeyeater, found in southwest Western Australia, was initially described as a separate species by John Gould in 1844,Gould, J. (1848). The Birds of Australia. 104 pls. London: J. Gould Vol. 4 [pl. 73]. before being reclassified as a subspecies of the white-naped for many years. However, a molecular study published in 2010 showed that it had diverged before the split of populations in eastern Australia into the white-naped and black-headed honeyeaters.{{cite journal|vauthors=Toon A, Hughes JM, Joseph L |year=2010|title=Multilocus analysis of honeyeaters (Aves: Meliphagidae) highlights spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the influence of biogeographic barriers in the Australian monsoonal zone|journal=Molecular Ecology|pmid=20609078|volume=19|issue=14|pages=2980–94|doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04730.x|s2cid=25346288}}
"White-naped honeyeater" has been designated as the official common name for the species by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | year=2021 | title= Honeyeaters | work=World Bird List Version 11.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/honeyeaters/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=3 April 2021}}
Description
Image:White-naped Honeyeater94.ogv
A mid-sized honeyeater at {{convert|13|–|15|cm|in|round=0.5|abbr=on}} in length, it is olive-green above and white below, with a black head, nape and throat, a red patch over the eye, and a white crescent-shaped patch on the nape. It is thinner than other similar species. Juveniles have brownish crowns and an orange base of the bill. Its call is a mjerp mjerp.{{cite book|vauthors=Simpson K, Day N, Trusler P | title = Field Guide to the Birds of Australia | publisher = Viking O'Neil | year = 1993 | location = Ringwood, Victoria | isbn = 0-670-90478-3 | page = 392}}
Ecology
It is found in eucalypt forest and woodlands. Its diet is principally nectar from a variety of flowers, supplemented by insects and various other invertebrates.
White-naped honeyeaters may nest from July to December, 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, {{Convert|18|x|14|mm|abbr=on}} in size, and shiny, buff-pink, sparsely spotted with red-brown.{{Cite book |last=Beruldsen |first=G |title=Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs |publisher=self |year=2003 |location=Kenmore Hills, Qld |pages=314–316 |isbn=0-646-42798-9}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Commons category-inline|Melithreptus lunatus|Melithreptus lunatus}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q741249}}
Category:Articles containing video clips
Category:Birds of New South Wales
Category:Birds of South Australia
Category:Birds of Victoria (state)