Fuscous Honeyeater Ptilotula fusca Scientific name definitions

13·5–17 cm; male 12–24 g and female 13·7–19 g (nominate), male 14–20 g and one female 14 g (subgermana). Nominate race breeding is greyish olive-brown above, with smudged blackish-brown ring around eye sometimes extending to lores, small pale yellow neck-plume narrowly bordered black on upper rear edge; olive scaling on upperwing-coverts, dark brown patch at bend of wing; remiges dark brown with yellow-olive outer edges (broad olive panel on folded wing), neat, fine white tips on outer primaries (in fresh plumage); yellow-olive sides of uppertail; chin, throat and breast slightly paler than upperparts, brown-grey, faintly streaked cream to buff, rest of under­body off-white, faintly streaked grey-brown; under­wing light grey-brown, darker brownish-grey trailing edge and tip; undertail dull brown with yellow-olive sides; iris dark brown, orbital ring black; bill and gape black; legs grey. Non-breeding plumage as breeding, but base of bill yellow, and cere, gape and orbital ring yellow. Sexes alike in plumage, male slightly larger than female. Juvenile is very similar to adult non-breeding, but separable (for short time) by browner top of head, hindneck and upperbody, yellow wash on rump, yellowish-olive face (including lores), paler yellow and smaller (often indistinct) neck-plume only faintly bordered with black, dull orange bill with brown tip, yellow or orange-yellow swollen gape. Race subgermana is smaller and paler than nominate, with olive-yellow wash on crown, face and chin and throat, and unstreaked or only very faintly streaked 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.

Dry, open sclerophyll forests and woodlands dominated by range of eucalypts and with dense or sparse understorey of shrubs or open grassy ground cover, especially box-ironbark, box or bloodwood (Corymbia) associations, or spotted gum forests and woodlands, and sometimes in eucalypt associations mixed with cypress-pine (Callitris); very occasionally in mallee woodlands. Sometimes also in remnant patches, including linear remnants, such as stock routes and roadside vegetation, in agricultural land or remnant trees in pastoral land; also gardens. On New England Tableland (NE New South Wales), occupied extensive eucalypt woodland away from streambed and dominated by Blakely’s red gum (Eucalyptus blakelyi), and with increasing abundance of yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora) with distance from stream, in preference to riverine woodland dominated by river sheoak (Casuarina cunninghamiana) or ecotone between eucalypt and riverine woodland mainly of Blakely’s red gum and rough-barked apple (Angophora floribunda). During autumn and winter often in heathland or coastal woodland with heath understorey, particularly heathland dominated by Banksia. Rarely recorded in low closed forest or dry monsoon forest.

Variable. Resident or partly so over much of range, with some local movements. Altitudinal migrant in S Highlands, making post-breeding descent during autumn-winter (e.g. migration to lower altitudes of Australian Capital Territory in Apr) and returning to higher levels late winter (e.g. mid-Aug); few remain in lowlands during summer. Changes in seasonal occurrence or abundance, or movements, observed in some other areas, but extent of movements not known and perhaps largely local; apparent departure or arrival noted in some places, e.g. near Mudgee (C New South Wales) present throughout year but abundance highest Dec–Jun, few present after Jul, before increase again in Dec. Occasionally recorded in unusual numbers or beyond normal range, with some occurrences consistent with timing of more regular movements. Local abundance often associated with availability of food or seasonal conditions. Migratory populations often in small flocks, often with Caligavis chrysops and Melithreptus lunatus. Nominate race vagrant in SE South Australia.

Mainly arthropods (insects, some spiders), honeydew (including of Eriococcidae) and lerp (of Psyllidae); also nectar, mainly from eucalypts but also other species, including mistletoes (Loranthaceae); occasionally fruit. At one site in Victoria, insects and their products (lerp, honeydew) and nectar comprised roughly equal proportions of diet, but birds fed predominantly on nectar in summer, and more on honeydew and lerp during autumn-winter; on New England Tableland, mainly insects and less often nectar. Forages at all heights, mainly in crowns of trees, less often in understorey; mainly among foliage and at flowers of trees or shrubs (overwhelmingly eucalypts, some in mistletoes or other trees or shrubs, such as Acacia), also on bark of twigs and large and small branches, on trunks of trees, in air, and occasionally on ground among grass and litter. Nectar obtained by directly probing flowers; insects caught mainly by gleaning, but also by probing under bark or, less often, by sallying, including sally-strikes on foliage and in air, sally-hovering and sally-pouncing. On New England Tableland, mean proportion of daytime spent in foraging 60% over whole year, but greater during autumn-winter (60–80%) than in spring-summer (45–50%). In C Victoria, diurnal foraging characterized by early-morning phase with high levels of nectar-feeding and low levels of insect-eating, and rest of day with increased levels of insect consumption. Gregarious, often in small active flocks to 20 or more individuals, and considered semi-colonial; can occur in larger flocks, of up to 150, on passage. Often associates with other bird species; also in mixed flocks in non-breeding season. On New England Tableland, foraged at similar heights and mainly among foliage whether P. penicillata present or not, but more on trunks of trees and less at flowers in areas where P. penicillata absent; choice of foraging trees and foraging methods not affected by presence or absence of latter species.

During foraging often gives single “chip” calls, probably as contact or location call. Perched song a repeated soft, dry rattling or rolling “twit’t’t’t’t” or “arig arig a”, often ending in harsh “taw-taw-taw…”; flight song a deep metallic “tew-tew-tew”. Alarm calls include rapidly repeated high-pitched fluting in response to aerial predator; high-pitched twittering, possibly same as call described as short high-pitched “twee-twee-twee”, during corroborees (see Family Text ); a call between last-mentioned and the one for aerial predator, given during chases, when captured or when potential avian predator close to nest; and harsh note or scolding when very agitated or alarmed.

May–Mar, mainly late winter to late summer, with clutches recorded Jul–Feb; at Armidale (NE New South Wales) season starts later and ends earlier, late Aug to early Feb (most activity Oct–Nov), with up to five breeding attempts, typically 3–4, of which two may be successful. Nest built usually by female alone, occasionally assisted by male, a well-built cup (though some purse-like or rounded) of fine grass, spider web, bark and wool or hair (which can be taken from live animals), bound with spider web or wool, lined with grass, wool or fur and plant down, sometimes unlined or sparsely lined (other materials include spider egg sacs, plant down or fibre, cotton, twigs, rootlets and moss and lichen), external diameter 4·8–7 cm, depth 5·1–7·6 cm, internal diameter 3·9–4·3 cm, depth 2·9–4·4 cm; suspended in outer foliage or between twigs among dense foliage at end of branch, mainly in crown of eucalypt or tall acacia, occasionally in mistletoe, 0·15–25 m (mean 4·9 m) above ground, at Armidale usually suspended from leafy horizontal or vertical twigs 0·8–30 m (mean 11·4m) up. Clutch 1–3 eggs, once 4, mean throughout range 2·4 eggs; incubation, brooding and nest maintenance by female only, most brooding during first 5–6 days; chicks fed by both parents, mostly by female in first two-thirds of nestling period, and then more equally by sexes; at Armidale, incubation period 11–18 days (average 14·9 days), nestling period 12–19 days (average 15·7 days); fledglings fed by both parents, probably independent 4–6 weeks after leaving nest, although later broods may remain with parents for up to 2 months. Nests parasitized by Horsfield’s Bronze-cuckoo (Chalcites basalis) and Pallid Cuckoo (Heteroscenes pallidus). For 55 eggs in 27 nests throughout range, 0·33 fledged young per nest; of 64 nests where outcome known, 34·4% fledged at least one young; at Armidale, overall success of 127 nests 28·2%, but as low as 7·5% in very dry season and as high as 40·9% in very good season, and success significantly higher at sites with high density of present species (where group defence more likely to occur) than at sites with low density.

Not globally threatened. Reasonably common or locally common. No estimates of total population; recorded densities of 0·1–5·4 birds/ha. Thought to have declined in coastal SE New South Wales, and no longer occurs SW Sydney.