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Meliphagidae
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Xanthotis
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Spotted Honeyeater Xanthotis polygrammus Scientific name definitions

Peter J. Higgins, Les Christidis, and Hugh Ford
Version: 1.0 — Published March 4, 2020
Text last updated January 1, 2008

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Originally Appeared in

HBW Alive

Field Identification

15–17 cm; male 19·7–23·5 g and female 18–19·5 g (lophotis), 19 g and 25 g (poikilosternos), one male 20 g (kuehni). Distinctive, medium-small honeyeater with moderately long and slightly decurved bill. Race lophotis has top and side of head and neck dark olive-brown to black-brown, fine white spotting on hindneck; large, fleshy partial orbital ring yellow to yellow-orange above eye, merging to pink behind or below eye (or both), or to grey beneath eye, broken at front by blackish lores and bordered below by blackish mous­tachial stripe that continues across lower ear-coverts, isolating small patch of pale grey on upper ear-coverts; ear-coverts bordered behind by bold yellow auricular plume that angles up and back onto side of neck; mantle, back and scapulars dark olive-brown, boldly but irregularly barred or scaled white and overlaid with varying olive-green wash (sometimes white spotting of hindneck continues onto upper mantle), rump and uppertail-coverts olive-brown to brownish-olive; uppertail olive-brown, slightly greener edges of rectrices; upperwing dark brown to dark olive-brown, small off-white to olive-white tips on smaller wing-coverts, yellowish-olive fringes and larger off-white tips (sometimes tinged olive) on greater coverts, fairly broad yellowish-olive outer edges on remiges (strong olive panel on folded wing); chin and throat pale grey, short, narrow and diffuse blackish malar stripe; underbody cream to pale creamy buff, weak olive tinge at side of breast, and fine olive-brown streaking over upper breast merging into boldly flecked or spotted lower underbody, large bold triangular marks throughout, most densely on lower breast (where black markings enclose small white spot at tips); undertail brownish-grey, olive tinge at edges of rectrices; underwing-coverts white, merging to buff across bases of remiges, and with silvery grey-brown trailing edge and tip; iris black-brown to black; bill black; legs grey. Sexes alike in plumage, male larger than female. Juvenile is like adult, but auricular plume paler, sometimes washed grey, mantle, back and scapulars tinged yellowish-olive, rufous-buff tips on upperwing-coverts, fine buff tip on tail, underparts less boldly spotted, gape yellow and more prominent than in adult. Race candidior is like lophotis, but black of feather centres of back less distinct, and underbody whiter, with finer black streaking and smaller black spotting or flecking; nominate race lacks yellow auricular plume; kuehni has top of head olive with dusky mottling or streaking, prominent yellow auricular plume, and yellow tinge on mantle, back and scapulars; poikilosternos has much-reduced auricular plume, olive tinge on top of head, and yellowish tinge on mantle, back and scapulars and underbody; septentrionalis has auricular plume barely visible, upperparts slightly paler and duller than previous and with only very fine white streaks or speckles, greyish underbody lacking olive tinge, also iris of one adult male described as blue-grey.

Systematics History

Editor's Note: This article requires further editing work to merge existing content into the appropriate Subspecies sections. Please bear with us while this update takes place.

Race kuehni included in poikilosternos and candidior in lophotis by some recent authors (1). Six subspecies recognized.

Subspecies

SUBSPECIES

Xanthotis polygrammus polygrammus Scientific name definitions

Xanthotis polygrammus polygrammus
X. p. polygrammus

Distribution

Waigeo, in West Papuan Is.
SUBSPECIES

Xanthotis polygrammus kuehni Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Misool, in West Papuan Is.
SUBSPECIES

Xanthotis polygrammus poikilosternos Scientific name definitions

Distribution

Salawati (in West Papuan Is), and mountains of NW and W New Guinea (Vogelkop and E at least to Victor Emanuel Mts).
SUBSPECIES

Xanthotis polygrammus septentrionalis Scientific name definitions

Distribution

mountains of N New Guinea from Mamberamo R E, including Foja Mts, Cyclops Mts and mountains of Sepik R region, to Adelbert Mts.
SUBSPECIES

Xanthotis polygrammus lophotis Scientific name definitions

Xanthotis polygrammus lophotis
X. p. lophotis

Distribution

mountains of Huon Peninsula and SE New Guinea.
SUBSPECIES

Xanthotis polygrammus candidior Scientific name definitions

Distribution

S New Guinea (S Trans-Fly region).

Distribution

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.

Habitat

Lowland, foothill and lower montane primary rainforest, foothill monsoon forest, secondary forest, edges of forest and, in lowlands, dense savanna. Sea-level to c. 1500 m; mainly in foothills and lower mountains, but commonly in lowlands in Trans-Fly region and around Port Moresby, and locally at base of foothills.

Movement

Few data. Resident at Crater Mt and Brown R (E & SE New Guinea), probably with some local movements. Only recoveries of ringed birds were at site where initially ringed, and more than one year later.

Diet and Foraging

Primarily insectivorous; also takes nectar and fruit, including figs (Ficus). Forages mainly in canopy to lower middle storey (including on vines), as well as in understorey. Of 97 observations of foraging in lowland rainforest at Brown R (in SE of range), most were in understorey (49%, including 35% from ground to 2 m above ground) and in upper canopy at 30–35 m (37%), with fewer in lower canopy 25–30 m above ground (7%) and in subcanopy at 8–25 m (7%); not recorded foraging in emergent trees; in Eastern Highlands, when in flowering trees, foraged evenly in upper canopy and in lower canopy. Distribution of foraging heights reflects types of food being sought, with most nectar-feeding in canopy and much insectivory at lower levels. Typically forages in foliage, especially among dead curled leaves, gleaning arthropods (including caterpillars), but also in flowering or fruiting plants. At Brown R study site foraged mostly among flowers (70% of observations) and foliage (18%), with rest on branches (7%) of rainforest trees and at fruits (5%); all observations described as involving gleaning, but this probably includes probing. Usually seen singly, less often in twos or threes; sometimes associates loosely with other meliphagids or other bird species at food sources, and commonly displaced by similarly sized congener X. flaviventer in flowering trees in Eastern Highlands; sometimes in mixed-species flocks.

Sounds and Vocal Behavior

Fairly quiet, but small groups can be noisy. Vocalizations include brief upslurred disyllabic musical whistle, "wu-déé", repeated many times at intervals of 1·5–3·5 seconds; repeated trisyllabic phrase from individuals in small parties; occasional "tup". Main vocalization also described as a repeated mechanical series of notes in descending pattern.

Breeding

Single record (without details) in Mar, and indirect evidence of breeding in Sept (one in breeding condition), Oct (three females with ovaries enlarged or becoming enlarged) and Jan (three in breeding condition). No other information.

Conservation Status

Conservation status on Birdlife LC Least Concern
Not globally threatened. Generally common to uncommon. Estimated density in lowland rainforest near Port Moresby (SE New Guinea) 1 bird/10 ha. No estimates of global population.
Distribution of the Spotted Honeyeater - Range Map
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Distribution of the Spotted Honeyeater

eBird and Macaulay Library

Recommended Citation

Higgins, P. J., L. Christidis, and H. Ford (2020). Spotted Honeyeater (Xanthotis polygrammus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.spohon3.01
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