The Zoochat Photographic Guide to Meliphagoidea (honeyeaters and allies)

Cissomela
One species, which is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Banded Honeyeater Cissomela pectoralis
Monotypic.


Found in northern Australia, from northeast Western Australia to northeast Queensland.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
Guadalcanaria
One species, which is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Formerly included in the genus Meliphaga.



Guadalcanal Honeyeater Guadalcanaria inexpectata
Monotypic.


Endemic to the mountain forests of Guadacanal in the Solomon Islands.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
Meliarchus
One species, which is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Makira Honeyeater Meliarchus sclateri
Monotypic.


Endemic to Makira in the Solomon Islands.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
Gymnomyza
Four species, none of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

The genus formerly contained only three species, but the Giant Honeyeater Gymnomyza viridis of Fiji has since been split into two species - G. viridis and G. brunneirostris



Crow Honeyeater Gymnomyza aubryana
Monotypic.


Endemic to New Caledonia.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Fijian Giant Honeyeater Gymnomyza brunneirostris
Monotypic.


Endemic to Viti Levu (Fijian Islands).


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Mao or Samoan Giant Honeyeater Gymnomyza samoensis
Monotypic.


Endemic to Samoa.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Yellow-billed Honeyeater Gymnomyza viridis
Monotypic.


Endemic to Vanua Levu and Taveuni (Fijian Islands).


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
Foulehaio
Three species, all of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Formerly only one species was recognised, the Polynesian Wattled Honeyeater Foulehaio carunculatus, which was split into three species in 2014 after a genetic study.


The three species can be distinguished visually by the colour and size of the wattles. In F. carunculatus the facial skin and wattles are entirely yellow, whereas in the two Fijian species the facial skin is black and the orange / yellow wattle is either very small (in F. procerior) or larger (in F. taviunensis). There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.



Eastern or Polynesian Wattled Honeyeater Foulehaio carunculatus
Monotypic.


Found in the Lau Islands, Wallis and Futuna Islands, Samoa, and Tonga.


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Samoa.

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Wattled Honeyeaters - ZooChat



Western Wattled Honeyeater or Kikau Foulehaio procerior
Monotypic.


Found on Viti Levu and surrounding islands (Fijian Islands).


Photo by @Semioptera at Kula Eco-Park, Fiji.

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Kikau - ZooChat



Northern or Fijian Wattled Honeyeater Foulehaio taviunensis
Monotypic.


Found on Vanua Levu and Taveuni (Fijian Islands).


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Fiji.

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wattled honeyeater (Foulehaio taviunesis) - ZooChat
 
Meliphacator
One species, which is not represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Formerly included in the genus Foulehaio.



Kadavu Honeyeater Meliphacator provocator
Monotypic.


Endemic to Kadavu (Fijian Islands).


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
Nesoptilotis
Two species, both of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Formerly in the genus Lichenostomus, and prior to that in Meliphaga.



Yellow-throated Honeyeater Nesoptilotis flavicollis
Monotypic.


Found only in Tasmania and the Bass Strait Islands.


Both photos below by @Hix in the wild, Australia. There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.

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Yellow-throated Honeyeater - ZooChat


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Yellow-throated Honeyeater - ZooChat



White-eared Honeyeater Nesoptilotis leucotis
Five subspecies: depauperata, leucotis, novaenorciae, schoddei, thomasi

Formerly only three subspecies were recognised: leucotis in forests of eastern Australia, novaenorciae in the mallee country from western to inland eastern Australia, and thomasi on Kangaroo Island. Recently genetic studies have split the mallee birds into three subspecies.


Found mainly across southern Australia: depauperata from central Queensland to southern NSW; leucotis from northeastern NSW to coastal Victoria; novaenorciae in southwest Western Australia; schoddei in southern South Australia; and thomasi on Kangaroo Island.


Both photos by @Hix in the wild, Australia (subspecies leucotis). There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.

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White-eared Honeyeater - ZooChat


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White-eared Honeyeater (Lichenostomus leucotis) - ZooChat
 
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Entomyzon
One species, which is represented in the Zoochat galleries.



Blue-faced Honeyeater Entomyzon cyanotis
Three subspecies: albipennis, cyanotis, griseigularis

The subspecies albipennis from northern Australia was split as a full species in 2017 and renamed the White-quilled Honeyeater, but this does not really seem to be followed so I have retained it as a subspecies here. It has a longer bill than the other subspecies, a less extensive white nape-stripe, more black on the shoulder, and a white rather than buff wing patch (only visible in flight). I think the eye colour is also different - yellow in albipennis and white in the others - but I don't know if this is consistent or not.


Found mainly in Australia but also in southern New Guinea: albipennis from northeast Western Australia to northwest Queensland; cyanotis from central Queensland to northern Victoria; and griseigularis in the Trans-Fly region of southern New Guinea and Australia's Cape York Peninsula.

There is no difference in plumage between the sexes, although young birds are easily distinguished by the colour of the facial skin.


Photo by @Terry Thomas in the wild, Australia (northern Australian subspecies albipennis).

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Blue-faced honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia (juvenile and adult birds of the eastern Australian subspecies cyanotis - note the yellow-brown facial skin of the juvenile bird in front).

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wild - Blue-faced Honeyeaters - ZooChat


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia (immature bird of the eastern Australian subspecies cyanotis - note the green facial skin).

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Juvenile Blue-faced Honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis cyanotis) - ZooChat


Photo by @ThylacineAlive at Zoo Plzen, Czech Republic (probably the New Guinea subspecies griseigularis). Blue-faced Honeyeaters are, compared to any other honeyeater species, relatively common in zoos outside of Australia and it is likely that the zoo population originated from New Guinea, so I have used this photo as it shows the bird very well.

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New Guinea Blue-Faced Honeyeater - ZooChat
 
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Melithreptus
Seven species, all of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

There is no difference in plumage between the sexes in the members of this genus.



Black-headed Honeyeater Melithreptus affinis
Monotypic.


Endemic to Tasmania and the Bass Strait islands.


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia.

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Black-headed Honeyeater - ZooChat



White-throated Honeyeater Melithreptus albogularis
Two subspecies: albogularis and inopinatus


Found in southern New Guinea and eastern Australia, with albogularis in New Guinea, and in northern Australia from northeast Western Australia to Queensland's Cape York Peninsula; and inopinatus down the east coast from central Queensland to northeast NSW.


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia (subspecies inopinatus).

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White-throated Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (I'm not sure of where the subspecies change in Queensland, so I'm not sure if this photo is albogularis or inopinatus but it shows the dorsal colouration at least).

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White-throated Honeyeater - ZooChat



Brown-headed Honeyeater Melithreptus brevirostris
Five subspecies: brevirostris, leucogenys, magnirostris, pallidiceps, wombeyi


Found across southern and eastern Australia: brevirostris from coastal southeast South Australia to northeastern NSW; leucogenys from west-central Western Australia to south-central South Australia; magnirostris on Kangaroo Island; pallidiceps from east-central South Australia to south-central Queensland; and wombeyi in far south Victoria.


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (subspecies brevirostris).

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Brown-headed Honeyeater - ZooChat



Gilbert's or Western Honeyeater Melithreptus chloropsis
Monotypic.

An older scientific name seen in some books is Melithreptus whitlocki.

Formerly treated as a subspecies of the White-naped Honeyeater M. lunatus due to its similarity (the main difference in physical appearance is that this species has white orbital skin and M. lunatus has red orbital skin). However genetically the two are more closely related to other species than to each other.


Endemic to southwest Western Australia.


Photo by @LaughingDove in the wild, Australia (adult bird, although not much can be seen in this photo. As noted above, they are extremely similar in appearance to M. lunatus except with white orbital skin).

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Western White-naped Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @AWP in the wild, Australia (juvenile bird - note the blue-green supraorbital skin and the brown head).

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Honeyeater - ZooChat



Black-chinned Honeyeater Melithreptus gularis
Two subspecies: gularis and laetior

The subspecies also have indivudal common names, with gularis being called the Olive-backed Honeyeater and laetior the Golden-backed Honeyeater.


Found in Australia from east-central Queensland to southeast South Australia (gularis), and west-central Western Australia to east-central Queensland (laetior).


Photo by @Hix at Alice Springs Desert Park, Australia (subspecies laetior, the Golden-backed Honeyeater).

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Black-chinned Honeyeater - ZooChat



White-naped Honeyeater Melithreptus lunatus
Monotypic.


Found in eastern Australia, from east-central Queensland to southeast South Australia.


Photo by @Hix at Featherdale Wildlife Park, Australia.

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White-naped Honeyeaters - ZooChat



Strong-billed Honeyeater Melithreptus validirostris
Monotypic.


Endemic to Tasmania and the Bass Strait islands.


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (adult bird - note the black bill and green supraorbital skin).

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Strong-billed Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (immature bird - note the bill has not turned completely black yet and the eye-ring is orange).

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Strong-billed Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (juvenile bird - note the fully yellow bill and eye-ring).

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Strong-billed Honeyeater juvenile - ZooChat
 
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Stomiopera
Two species, both of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Formerly in the genus Lichenostomus, and before that in Meliphaga.



Yellow Honeyeater Stomiopera flava
Two subspecies: addenda and flava

The specific and subspecific names are spelled variably as either addenda / addendus and flava / flavus due to the change in the genus (moving from Lichenostomus flavus to Stomiopera flava).


Found only in tropical Queensland, with addenda in east-central Queensland and flava on the Cape York Peninsula.


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (I'm not sure of the exact distribution limits but all the photos of wild birds in the Zoochat galleries were taken around the Cairns / Mareeba area). There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.

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Yellow Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix at Kuranda Bird World, Australia (juvenile bird, with duller plumage than adult).

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Yellow Honeyeater - ZooChat



White-gaped Honeyeater Stomiopera unicolor
Monotypic.


Found across northern Australia, from northwest Western Australia to northeast Queensland.


Photo by @Terry Thomas in the wild, Australia. There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.

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White-gaped honeyeater - ZooChat
 
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Meliphaga
Three species, two of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

The genus was formerly much larger (over thirty species) but the species have since been split across multiple genera. Many were first split into Lichenostomus and then that genus was split up even further.



Puff-backed Honeyeater Meliphaga aruensis
Monotypic.


Found in New Guinea and surrounding islands.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Lewin's Honeyeater Meliphaga lewinii
Three subspecies: amphochlora, lewinii, mab



Found in eastern Australia, with amphochlora on the Cape York Peninsula, lewinii from southeast Queensland to southern Victoria, and mab in northeast to east-central Queensland.


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia (subspecies lewinii). There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.

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Lewin's Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @DaLilFishie in the wild, Australia (subspecies mab).

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Lewin's Honeyeater (Meliphaga lewini mab) - ZooChat



Yellow-spotted Honeyeater Meliphaga notata
Two subspecies: mixta and notata


Found in a restricted area of northeastern Queensland (Australia), with mixta on the southeast Cape York Peninsula, and notata on the Cape York Peninsula (from about Cooktown north) and on the Torres Strait Islands.


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (subspecies mixta). There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.

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Yellow-spotted Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @ronnienl in the wild, Australia (subspecies mixta).

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Yellow-spotted honeyeater - ZooChat
 
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Purnella
One species, which is represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Formerly included in the genus Phylidonyris.



White-fronted Honeyeater Purnella albifrons
Monotypic.


Distributed across most of arid west, south and central Australia, although uncommon across the range as a whole.


Both photos by @Hix in the wild, Australia (adult birds). There is no difference in plumage between the sexes, although it seems that there is individual variation in colour of the throat being black or brown - as seen in these two photos.

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White-fronted Honeyeater - ZooChat

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White-fronted Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (juvenile bird - showing duller colouration and, just visible, yellow at the gape).

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White-fronted Honeyeater - ZooChat
 
Lichenostomus
Two species, both of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

The genus was formerly much larger but most species have since been split across multiple genera.



Purple-gaped Honeyeater Lichenostomus cratitius
Two subspecies: cratitius and occidentalis


Found across southern Australia, with cratitius restricted to Kangaroo Island, and occidentalis on the mainland from south-central Western Australia across to southwest Victoria.


Photo by @WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia (Kangaroo Island subspecies cratitius). There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.

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Purple-gaped Honeyeater - ZooChat



Yellow-tufted Honeyeater Lichenostomus melanops
Four subspecies: cassidix, gippslandicus, melanops, meltoni

The subspecies cassidix has the common name of Helmeted Honeyeater.


Found in southeastern Australia - with some differences in how the subspecies' ranges are divided, according to source - with cassidix now restricted to Yellingbo east of Melbourne (Victoria); gippslandicus in central and east Gippsland (Victoria), and up to NSW in some treatments; melanops in coastal NSW (and in eastern Victoria in some treatments); and meltoni in southeast Queensland to central Victoria along the inland scarp of the Great Dividing Range.


Photo by @zooboy28 at Healesville Sanctuary, Australia (subspecies cassidix - note the larger crest which gives this subspecies its common name of Helmeted Honeyeater, and the more yellow crown). There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.

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Helmeted Honeyeater - Healesville Sanctuary 2013 - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix at Gorge Wildlife Park, Australia (subspecies gippslandicus).

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Yellow-tufted Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (subspecies melanops).

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Yellow-tufted Honeyeater (Lichenostomus m. melanops) - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (taken at Cooma in the Great Dividing Range, an overlap region of the subspecies melanops and meltoni).

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Yellow-tufted Honeyeater - ZooChat
 
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Microptilotis
Ten species, three of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Formerly in the genus Meliphaga.


Most species are from New Guinea. There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.



Scrub Honeyeater Microptilotis albonotatus
Monotypic.


Found across New Guinea from the Vogelkop Peninsula in the northwest to the Huon Gulf in the northeast.


Photo by @Hix of a wild-caught bird, Papua New Guinea.

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Scrub Honeyeater - ZooChat



Mimic Honeyeater Microptilotis analogus
Monotypic.


Found in the Raja Ampat islands, the Aru Islands, and in most of mainland New Guinea.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Elegant Honeyeater Microptilotis cinereifrons
Monotypic.


Found in southeast New Guinea.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Yellow-gaped Honeyeater Microptilotis flavirictus
Two subspecies: crockettorum and flavirictus


Found in New Guinea, with crockettorum in the west and north, and flavirictus in the east.


Photo by @Hix of a wild-caught bird, Papua New Guinea (subspecies crockettorum).

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Yellow-gaped Honeyeater - ZooChat



Graceful Honeyeater Microptilotis gracilis
Monotypic.


Found in southern New Guinea, the Aru Islands, the Torres Strait islands, and at the northern end of Australia's Cape York Peninsula.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Cryptic Honeyeater Microptilotis imitatrix
Monotypic.

Split from M. gracilis in 2019. At first it was renamed the Imitatress Honeyeater, which didn't catch on and Cryptic Honeyeater took hold instead.


Found in a limited area of Queensland's Wet Tropics, in the southeast of Australia's Cape York Peninsula.


Photo by @Chlidonias in the wild, Australia.

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Cryptic Honeyeater (Microptilotis imitatrix) - ZooChat



Mottle-breasted Honeyeater Microptilotis mimikae
Monotypic.


Found in west-central to southeast New Guinea.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Forest Honeyeater Microptilotis montanus
Two subspecies: montanus and steini.


Found in New Guinea and surrounding islands: montanus on the island of Batanta, and the Vogelkop Peninsula across to southeast New Guinea; and steini on Yapen island.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Mountain Honeyeater Microptilotis orientalis
Three subspecies: becki, facialis, orientalis


Found in the montane forests of New Guinea, with becki in northern and northeast New Guinea; facialis on the island of Waigeo, and from the Vogelkop Peninsula to central New Guinea; and orientalis in the southeast.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Tagula Honeyeater Microptilotis vicina
Monotypic.


Endemic to the island of Tagula in the Louisiade Archipelago.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
Territornis
Three species, none of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Formerly in the genus Meliphaga.



White-lined Honeyeater Territornis albilineata
Monotypic.


Found only in the Northern Territory (Australia).


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Kimberley Honeyeater Territornis fordiana
Monotypic.


Restricted to the Kimberley in Western Australia.


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.



Streak-breasted Honeyeater Territornis reticulata
Monotypic.


Endemic to the islands of Semau and Timor in the Lesser Sundas (Indonesia).


There are no photos of this species in the Zoochat galleries.
 
Gavicalis
Three species, all of which are represented in the Zoochat galleries.

Formerly in the genus Lichenostomus, and prior to that in Meliphaga.



Mangrove Honeyeater Gavicalis fasciogularis
Monotypic.

This species was formerly considered conspecific with the Varied Honeyeater G. versicolor.


Found in mangroves along Australia's northeast coast from central Queensland (about Townsville) south to northeast NSW.


Both photos by @WhistlingKite24 in the wild, Australia. There is no difference in plumage between the sexes, although they seem individually variable in how colourful they are. I think the second photo might be a juvenile or immature bird.

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Mangrove Honeyeater - ZooChat

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Mangrove Honeyeater - ZooChat



Varied Honeyeater Gavicalis versicolor
Two subspecies: sonoroides and versicolor.


Found mainly in New Guinea, extending slightly into Australia: sonoroides from the Raja Ampat Islands and Yapen, and along coastal New Guinea to the D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago; and versicolor from the coasts of southern New Guinea to the Torres Strait islands, and into Australia's Cape York Peninsula down to about Townsville.


Both photos by @Hix in the wild, Boigu Island (subspecies versicolor). As in the majority of honeyeaters there is no difference in plumage between the sexes but the male is larger than the female, as can be seen in the first photo.

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Varied Honeyeater pair at nest - ZooChat

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Varied Honeyeater - ZooChat



Singing Honeyeater Gavicalis virescens
Four subspecies: cooperi, forresti, sonorus, virescens


Found across Australia, with cooperi in the northern Northern Territory and offshore islands; forresti across central Australia from north-central Western Australia to northwest Queensland and northwest NSW; sonorus in eastern Australia from north-central Queensland south to northern Victoria and southeast South Australia; and virescens from southwest Western Australia to southwest South Australia.


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (central subspecies forresti). There is no difference in plumage between the sexes.

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Singing Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (fledglings / juveniles of central subspecies forresti).

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Singing Honeyeaters - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (eastern subspecies sonorus).

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Singing Honeyeater - ZooChat


Photo by @Hix in the wild, Australia (southwestern subspecies virescens).

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Singing Honeyeater - wild bird - ZooChat


Photo by @LaughingDove in the wild, Australia (subspecies virescens on Rottnest Island, a population formerly treated as a distinct subspecies, insularis, although this is no longer recognised as valid).

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Singing Honeyeater Endemic Subspecies - Rottnest Island - ZooChat
 
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Jurek7 said:
So many interesting species! Pity that few honeyeaters are found in zoos outside their native range.
Click to expand...
Very few are found in Australian zoos either. I can think of only four species off the top of my head, and most zoos would not exhibit any.
 
Osedax said:
Really? Which four? Featherdale has at least seven.
Click to expand...
The species I could think of were regent, blue-faced, helmeted/yellow-tufted, and scarlet. As soon as I posted this I thought there would probably be a few chats around as well. But these are the only ones I could think of that might be in multiple zoos.

Featherdale of course has an excellent collection, after all it is what they are known for, and I'm not surprised to hear they have seven species. What are they?

The other place likely to have multiple species would be Alice Springs Desert Park. They are in the position where they can take species from the wild almost at will.
 
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