Dark-eared Myza Myza celebensis Scientific name definitions

17 cm; three males 19·5–22·5 g. Nominate race has top of head and neck grey to tawny-olive, finely streaked dark olive-brown, merging to largely dark olive-brown supercilium; dark olive-brown line beneath eye curving up behind eye to meet rear supercilium, and enclosing bold whitish orbital ring, which is narrow or broken at front; lores pale grey, finely speckled darker (brown); malar area, ear-coverts and side of neck dark olive-brown, finely speckled or mottled light grey-brown, merging to yellowish-grey on chin and throat, which evenly streaked or mottled dark olive-brown; upperbody brownish-grey, streaked and mottled dark olive-brown to blackish; upperwing dark olive-brown, pale olive to yellow-olive outer edges of remiges (diffusely olive panel on outer edge of folded wing); breast yellowish-grey, evenly streaked or mottled dark olive-brown, merging to dark olive-brown on rest of underparts, scaled and streaked paler yellowish-grey except on centre of belly; undertail dark brown to dark olive-brown, underwing dark olive-brown with pale buff lining; iris dark brown; bill glossy black, sometimes tiny pale brown tip; legs dark brown to grey-brown or green-grey, soles yellow to yellow-orange. Sexes alike in plumage, male much larger than female: weight c. 22 g in male (n = 14) and 17 g in female (n = 18); wing-length c. 87 mm in male (n = 15) and 76 mm in female (n = 19) (1 Noske, R.A., Leishman, A.J., Harris, J.B.C., Putra, D.D. and Prawiradilaga, D.M. (2011). Strong sexual size dimorphism in the Dark-eared Myza Myza celebensis, a Sulawesi-endemic honeyeater, with notes on its wing markings and moult. Kukila. 17(1): 1–11. Close ). Juvenile undescribed. Race meridionalis is slightly smaller than nominate, also slightly darker and greyer above, and darker with finer and weaker streaking below.

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Editor's Note: Additional distribution information for this taxon can be found in the 'Subspecies' article above. In the future we will develop a range-wide distribution article.

Occupies montane rainforest, mainly in primary forest, including moss forest. More often on lower slopes than on ridges; from c. 900 m up to 2500 m. Replaced at higher altitudes by M. sarasinorum.

No information; probably sedentary.

No details of diet. Forages mainly in lower stages, less often in canopy, but feeds in crowns of flowering trees, including in flowering mistletoes (of genus Loranthus); forages at flowers, and by gleaning from branches, vines and other hard surfaces. Singly or in twos (probably pairs); sometimes in or at edges of mixed-species flocks of insectivores.

Main call a sharp, harsh “tsreet” or harsh “kik”. Song a slurred series of twittering squeaks or harsh twittering.

Little information. Females with brood patches recorded in late Mar (2) and Jul (1) (1 Noske, R.A., Leishman, A.J., Harris, J.B.C., Putra, D.D. and Prawiradilaga, D.M. (2011). Strong sexual size dimorphism in the Dark-eared Myza Myza celebensis, a Sulawesi-endemic honeyeater, with notes on its wing markings and moult. Kukila. 17(1): 1–11. Close ).

Not globally threatened. Restrictedrange species: present in Sulawesi EBA. Widespread and common. Continuing threats to habitat, through logging and clearing, potentially of concern.