Gray-streaked Honeyeater Ptiloprora perstriata Scientific name definitions

19·5–20 cm; male 23·5–30 g and female 21–25·5 g (nominate), three males 29·5–32 g and one female 26 g (praedicta). Nominate race has head and neck black-brown, irregular light grey streaking on top of head , hindneck and side of neck, merging to dense fine pale grey streaking and speckling on side of head; upperbody black-brown to almost black, irregular light grey streaking on mantle merging to more olive-grey to pale olive-brown streaking on back and scapulars (whole of saddle appearing somewhat mottled); upperwing and uppertail dark brown, slightly browner than upperparts, median coverts and outer edges of greater coverts with rufous-brown tips, and rufous-brown basal outer edges on all except outer 2–3 primaries (which have faint rufous tinge on outer edges, apparently rapidly lost with wear); chin brown to dark brown, faintly mottled light grey, merging to light grey and diffusely brown-streaked on throat; underbody black-brown to dark brown or dark reddish-brown, heavily but irregularly streaked with light grey to off-white, and overlaid with strong rufous-brown wash on flanks , side of belly and vent and undertail-coverts; undertail olive-brown; underwing off-white to buff, mottled brown on coverts, with dark brownish-grey trailing edge and tip; iris green to pale green or greyish-green; bill black; legs blue to blue-grey or leaden. Sexes alike in plumage, male larger than female. Juvenile is apparently largely dark brown to dark olive-brown and appearing unstreaked above (edges of feathers differing little from centres), heavily brown-streaked yellowish-olive below, lacking conspicuous rufous on flanks, with greyer chin and throat, also soft pale gape, brown (not green) iris, and greyish-brown legs. Race praedicta is larger than nominate (but highest-altitude populations of latter in Snow Mts more similar), has slightly paler ground colour on top of head, broader pale streaking on crown to back and scapulars, greyer rump and uppertail-coverts, paler greyish-black to dark grey underbody with broader pale streaking, and paler and less extensive rufous-brown wash on flanks and sides.

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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.

Upper mid-montane and montane primary forest, from open to dense forest and including moss forest, at forest edge, tongues of stunted trees and shrubs extending into alpine grassland, and alpine and subalpine shrubland. From c. 1300 m to 3750 m in W New Guinea, fairly common above 1500 m in Ok Tedi region in C, but only above c. 2500 m in E. Largely above range of P. guisei, but altitudinal overlap of up to several hundred metres in some areas; on Mt Michael transition between the two occurs at 2890–3200 m, whereas on Mts Hagen, Kubor and Wilhelm transition was at c. 2400 m.

Presumed sedentary.

Diet includes arthropods (mostly insects), fruit and nectar . Forages from understorey shrubs, close to ground, up to canopy level; also commonly in shrubs of edge habitats. Takes insects and fruit by gleaning from foliage, twigs, branches and roots, probing moss and epiphytes, and occasionally sallying for flying insects; nectar, and probably some insects, taken by probing flowers, including of shrub Dimorphanthera, flowers of which it probed from below. Active and generally unwary; clambers about in vegetation and sometimes hangs upside-down. Usually seen singly, less often in twos (probably pairs); at least occasionally in mixed-species flocks.

Range of brief high-pitched and often slurred whistles , repeated every few seconds, such as “sueeiiyu” (duration 0·75 seconds) and trisyllabic “ss’wei’ssii” (0·9 seconds) or “whee-u”, “wee dyu”, “a-whee”, “chee-a-wee”, “deeyur whit” or “peeyu seeyu”; also a loud, monotonously repeated upslurred “seeu”, a downslurred “seeee”, and continuous series of dry “chip” notes.

Eggs recorded in early Oct and late Jan (and almost certainly late Apr), nestlings early Jul, late Oct and early Nov (another nestling, probably of this species, in early Oct), fledglings early Sept and early Nov, and juveniles mid-Aug to mid-Sept; apparently carrying nesting material in early Feb. Nest a deep bulky cup, exterior made of moss, coarse grass, leaves and twigs and covered with live green moss (hangs from walls of nest), with some dry fine tendrils and green epiphytic orchid stems around upper rim, interior a cup of dry, paper-like pieces of Pandanus frond and Nastus bamboo leaves, lined thickly with hair-like plant fibres and feathers and fine hair, for three nests external diameter 10·5–11·6 cm, depth 11–14·5 cm, internal diameter 5–6·2 cm, depth 3·5–4·5 cm, another 9·5 × 12·5 cm externally and 5·5 × 3·5 cm internally; one nest suspended by rim from fork of sapling branch, another apparently supported on branch and against trunk of small tree, a third was atop a tree-fern (Cyathea) frond and another suspended by rim between horizontal forks, first three nests respectively 2·5 m, 5·5 m and 3·9 m above ground; nest originally described as that of P. guisei but more likely of present species was made of rootlets and dried leaves (of climbing bamboo), covered externally with living moss, lined with hair-like plant fibres and a few feathers, suspended from leafy fork of hanging vine; another nest probably of this species made of coarse grass, leaves and twigs, lined with feathers and grass, with strands of moss attached to exterior, external dimensions 11 × 13 cm. Clutch of 1 egg recorded (2 eggs possible); four nests each contained a single young, as also did nest originally described as that of P. guisei; no information on incubation and nestling periods.

Not globally threatened. Restrictedrange species: present in West Papuan Highlands EBA and in Central Papuan Mountains EBA. Not well known; considered generally fairly common to abundant.