White-naped honeyeater

Species of bird

White-naped honeyeater

Conservation status

Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]

Scientific classification
Domain:  | Eukaryota
Kingdom:  | Animalia
Phylum:  | Chordata
Class:  | Aves
Order:  | Passeriformes
Family:  | Meliphagidae
Genus:  | Melithreptus
Species:  |

M. lunatus

Binomial name
Melithreptus lunatus

(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[edit]

The white-naped honeyeater was originally described as Certhia lunata by French ornithologist Louis Pierre Vieillot in 1802.[2] 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.[3] 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.[4]

Gilbert's honeyeater, found in southwest Western Australia, was initially described as a separate species by John Gould in 1844,[5] 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.[6]

"White-naped honeyeater" has been designated as the official common name for the species by the International Ornithologists' Union (IOC).[7]

## Description[edit]

Drinking by the water's edge, SE Queensland

A mid-sized honeyeater at 13–15 cm (5–6 in) 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.[8]

## Ecology[edit]

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, 18 mm × 14 mm (0.71 in × 0.55 in) in size, and shiny, buff-pink, sparsely spotted with red-brown.[9]

## References[edit]

1. ^ BirdLife International (2016). "Melithreptus lunatus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T103685459A93954156. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T103685459A93954156.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
2. ^ Vieillot, L.P. (1802). Oiseaux dorés au a reflets metalliques. (published in 32 parts). Paris Vol. 2 [95].
3. ^ Driskell, A.C.; Christidis, L (2004). "Phylogeny and evolution of the Australo-Papuan honeyeaters (Passeriformes, Meliphagidae)". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution. 31 (3): 943–960. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2003.10.017. PMID 15120392.
4. ^ Barker, F.K.; Cibois, A.; Schikler, P.; Feinstein, J.; Cracraft, J (2004). "Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 101 (30): 11040–11045. Bibcode:2004PNAS..10111040B. doi:10.1073/pnas.0401892101. PMC 503738. PMID 15263073.
5. ^ Gould, J. (1848). The Birds of Australia. 104 pls. London: J. Gould Vol. 4 [pl. 73].
6. ^ Toon A, Hughes JM, Joseph L (2010). "Multilocus analysis of honeyeaters (Aves: Meliphagidae) highlights spatio-temporal heterogeneity in the influence of biogeographic barriers in the Australian monsoonal zone". Molecular Ecology. 19 (14): 2980–94. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2010.04730.x. PMID 20609078. S2CID 25346288.
7. ^ Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2021). "Honeyeaters". World Bird List Version 11.1. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
8. ^ Simpson K, Day N, Trusler P (1993). Field Guide to the Birds of Australia. Ringwood, Victoria: Viking O'Neil. p. 392\. ISBN 0-670-90478-3.
9. ^ Beruldsen, G (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Qld: self. pp. 314–316. ISBN 0-646-42798-9.

## External links[edit]

* Media related to Melithreptus lunatus at Wikimedia Commons

Taxon identifiers

Melithreptus lunatus|

* Wikidata: Q741249
* Wikispecies: Melithreptus lunatus
* ADW: Melithreptus_lunatus
* AFD: Melithreptus_(Melithreptus)_lunatus
* Avibase: E4C4AC3179986357
* BirdLife: 103685459
* BirdLife-Australia: white-naped-honeyeater
* BOLD: 119174
* BOW: whnhon2
* CoL: 3ZKNJ
* eBird: whnhon2
* GBIF: 5230482
* iNaturalist: 501272
* IRMNG: 10215753
* ITIS: 561087
* IUCN: 103685459
* NCBI: 108836
* Observation.org: 74983
* Open Tree of Life: 598350
* Xeno-canto: Melithreptus-lunatus