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Black-chinned Honeyeater
(eastern subspecies)
Melithreptus gularis gularis
Conservation Status
Vulnerable species in New South Wales (Threatened Species Conservation Act).
What does it look like?
It is the largest of its genus, reaching 17 cm in length. The cap is black, with a white crescent around the nape, and there is a diagnostic black ‘chin’ beneath the bill and extending down the white throat. The back and wings are dull olive-green and the tail is greyish-brown. The underparts are white, with a greyish-buff tint on the breast. (from DEC- NSW Threatened Species Profile)
Where does it live and what is its life cycle?
They occupy dry forest and woodlands, particularly along rivers, with a preference for box-ironbark associations and River Red Gum. The eastern form is found to the west of the Great Dividing Range in a narrow belt from southern Queensland through NSW and into Victoria and South Australia, in suitable woodlands with an approximate annual rainfall of 400-700mm. This subspecies has also been recorded in the drier coastal woodlands (e.g. Cumberland Plain, Western Sydney, Hunter, Richmond and Clarence Valleys). Pittwater has one record for them in the Warriewood Wetlands. The Honeyeater is unable to persist in remnants that have been reduced to less than 200ha and naturally occurs in low densities. They nest in deep cups of bark, grass, down and fur suspended in outer foliage, laying a clutch of two spotted pink eggs.
Updated: 22 Jun 2011
Related Links
- Black-chinned Honeyeater (eastern subspecies) - DEC-NSW Threatened Species Profile