Family Honeyeaters (Meliphagidae)
Least Concern
Gilbert's Honeyeater (Melithreptus chloropsis)
Taxonomy
French: Méliphage du Swan German: Weißbrauen-Honigfresser Spanish: Mielero nuquiblanco occidental
Other common names:
Western White-naped Honeyeater,
Swan River Honeyeater
Taxonomy:
Melithreptus chloropsis
Gould
, 1848,Swan River, Western Australia
.Distribution:
SW Western Australia (N to Swan R Plain and Wheatbelt in W).
Descriptive notes
10·5–15·5 cm; two males 15–16 g. Compared to formerly conspecific M. lunatus, adult is slightly larger (with significantly longer bill and tarsus), and arc of bare... read more
Voice
Clearly similar to vocalizations of formerly conspecific M. lunatus, with calls including... read more
Habitat
Mainly in open forests and woodlands, dominated by jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata, marri (... read more
Food and feeding
Arthropods (mainly insects, e.g. Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera and Hymenoptera, also some spiders) and nectar (including of Eucalyptus... read more
Breeding
Season Sept–Feb, with records of eggs and nestlings in Sept–Oct, but young in nest also recorded in Dec and Feb, suggesting double-brooding... read more
Movements
Resident and sedentary, with local movements (often described as locally nomadic), although these... read more
Status and conservation
Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Reasonably common. No estimates of total population but local declines have been reported in Wheatbelt, where numbers around... read more
Until recently considered conspecific with M. lunatus, but differs in its whitish vs red supraocular arc (3); longer bill (effect size from published data#R 2.45, score 2); higher-pitched whistles (1800–2000 Hz vs 1200–1600 Hz) (2)#R; and possibly different nest and eggs (allow 1)#R; species status supported by molecular evidence in which lunatus emerges as more closely related to M. affinis than to present species#R#R. Monotypic.