Rufous-banded Honeyeater Conopophila albogularis Scientific name definitions

12–14·5 cm; male 9·2–14·5g, female 9·8–13·2 g. Has dark pearl-grey head, fine darker streaking on top of head, diffusely darker loral stripe, and well-defined white chin and throat; upperparts brown, upperwing and uppertail slightly darker, diffuse pale edges on greater secondary coverts, narrow paler brown to off-white fringes on tertials, and fine yellow edges on remiges and rectrices (prominent yellow panel on folded wing and yellow sides of tail); underbody white, broad but diffuse brown breastband continuing as brown wash along flanks; undertail dark grey, underwing greyish-white with brownish-grey trailing edge and tip; iris brown to brownish-grey; bill black-brown, blue-grey base of lower mandible, blue-grey or pale grey gape; legs blue-grey to dark grey. Sexes alike in plumage, male slightly larger than female. Juvenile is like adult, but with top and side of head browner (much as upperbody), no dark streaking on cap, merging into (not sharply demarcated from) off-white chin and throat, and with obvious narrow off-white eyering, underbody off-white, breastband reduced to faint pale brown wash at side (sometimes also on flanks), some also have pale buff centre of breast, bill grey-black with pinkish or orange base of lower mandible and gape.

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Patchily in lowland New Guinea at Sorong (W Vogelkop), along Sepik R, Markham R and upper Musa R (in N), and (in S) from Triton Bay E to Trans-Fly and Fly R, and at scattered sites in SE lowlands from Kerema E to Milne Bay; Aru Is; islands in Torres Strait; and N Australia from Melville I and Top End of Northern Territory (S to 15° S, E in coastal and subcoastal areas to Gove Peninsula), and Groote Eylandt, E to N Queensland (Cape York Peninsula).

Open riparian paperbark (Melaleuca) woodlands surrounding wetlands; patches of monsoon vine forest (e.g. dry semi-deciduous monsoon vine thickets); and open and closed mangrove forests and woodlands on coasts (mainly where adjacent to other preferred habitats), but not normally within extensive mangrove forest. Sometimes in open forest or woodland of Eucalyptus or Eucalyptus and Lophostemon near wetlands with open grassy or shrubby sclerophyllous understorey; tends to avoid eucalypt forests and savanna in Australia, but more commonly in such habitats in New Guinea. Common in some cities, urban areas and towns and villages, in suburban parks and gardens and street trees, and in roadside vegetation. Unusually, one in scrub in swampy paddock on Sogeri Plateau, in SE New Guinea. Coastal lowlands and offshore islands; above 600 m on Sogeri Plateau.

Resident, with some local erratic or nomadic movements, possibly by young birds. In ringing study in Darwin, adults appeared sedentary, but young possibly non-territorial floaters for months or years.

Predominantly arthropods (mainly insects, also spiders), also nectar (e.g. of Eucalyptus, Melaleuca), occasionally arils attaching seeds to seedpods; seen also to take nectar from extra-floral nectaries on phyllodes of Acacia umbellata. Forages mostly in outer foliage of tree crowns, less often in lower canopy and shrub layer; fairly regularly on ground; seen to forage on aquatic vegetation in swamps (including reeds and water-lilies). Insects gleaned (e.g. from foliage, twigs and Acacia seedpods), caught also by sally-striking at foliage, sally-pouncing on to grass, sally-striking in air, probing and flutter-chasing; nectar taken by probing flowers. Arils sometimes plucked from seedpods of Acacia auriculiformis, rubbed against branch to remove seeds, then eaten. Usually forages singly or in twos (mostly pairs in territories), though occasionally in small flocks of 10–30 individuals; often in mixed-species feeding flocks, particularly with C. rufogularis.

Song complicated and melodious; in New Guinea, one or two wheezy upslurs followed by clearer series of 5–8 notes in seesawing pattern, “szzweei,szzweei, whi-tsui-swei-tsui-swei-swot-tsee-sot”, one 10-note song lasted 3·5 seconds. Most common call a repeated rising “zzheep”, or upslurred, wheezy “szweeit”, or clearer “sweeit”. Other calls include, in New Guinea, a nasal chipping “nyah-zit” or “nyah-nyah” in flight, coarse squawking “kwee-kwee-kwee…” and nasal “zwee”; in Australia occasional cheeps, chattering and melodious twitter. In New Guinea, two birds often call together, one slightly after the other and both finishing abruptly.

In New Guinea breeds through much of year, with peaks middle to late dry season and later in wet season; on Boigu I, in Torres Strait, eggs mid-Jan; in Australia breeding activity in all months, mainly Aug–May and concentrated Sept–Feb, in Darwin (Northern Territory) large peak in Sept–Oct (late dry season) and second, smaller peak in Jan–Mar (late wet season), pair may raise up to five broods. Both sexes collect material and build nest, a deep cup or purse made of fine strips of bark, grass, tips of palm fronds and other plant material, and spider web, lined with fine grass and bark fibre, external diameter 4·4 cm at rim and 5·7 cm at widest part, internal diameter 3·2 cm at rim, depth 5·7 cm; suspended by rim in thin horizontal fork of leafy branch, usually in centre or outer foliage of shrub or small tree, often over water, in New Guinea sometimes in clump of reeds; 195 nests Darwin 1·6–11 m (mean 5 m) above ground, elsewhere 0·5–10 m. Clutch 1–4 eggs, usually 2 (mean 2·16); incubation probably starts with or just before completion of clutch, by female only, period 14–17 days (once estimated fewer than 13 days in New Guinea); chicks brooded probably usually by female alone (but both members of pair seen to brood at one New Guinea nest), fed by both sexes, nestling period 13–15 days, in New Guinea suggested as 10–13 days; fledglings fed by both parents, remain with them for at least 30 days after fledging; adults sometimes start nest for subsequent attempt before young fledge. For 50 eggs in 23 nests, 0·95 young fledged per nest; twelve pairs in Darwin produced mean of 5·82 young per pair per season.

Not globally threatened. Common to very common in New Guinea; in Australia, recorded densities in Northern Territory of 12 birds/ha in Darwin and 0·3 birds/ha along S Alligator R. Colonized suburbs of Darwin in 1980s, well established by 1985, and presently ubiquitous and abundant. Distribution in New Guinea very patchy.