Black-headed honeyeater
Kingdom
Phylum
Class
Family
Genus
SPECIES
Melithreptus affinis

The black-headed honeyeater (Melithreptus affinis ) is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae.It is one of two members of the genus Melithreptus endemic to Tasmania. Its natural habitats are temperate forest and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation. Despite its name, the black-headed honeyeater eats predominantly insects.

Appearance

A mid-sized honeyeater, it is olive-green above and white below, with a wholly black head that lacks the white nape of its relatives. It has a blue-white patch of bare skin around the eye. Its beak is small.

Distribution

Geography

Countries
Biogeographical realms

The black-headed honeyeater is endemic to Tasmania as well as King Island and the Furneaux Group, where it inhabits wet and dry sclerophyll forests, as well as scrub and heathland, and subalpine habitats to an altitude of 1200 m (4000 ft).

Habits and Lifestyle

Lifestyle
Seasonal behavior
Bird's call

Diet and Nutrition

Insects form the bulk of the diet, and the black-headed honeyeater specialises in foraging among the foliage of trees, as opposed to probing the trunk for prey, which is practised by its relative the strong-billed honeyeater, and consequently the two species rarely overlap. Birds often hang upside down from branches while foraging.

References

1. Black-headed honeyeater Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black-headed_honeyeater
2. Black-headed honeyeater on The IUCN Red List site - https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22704132/93954393
3. Xeno-canto bird call - https://xeno-canto.org/692700

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