Yellow-throated Honeyeater
Encyclopedia
The Yellow-throated Honeyeater (Lichenostomus flavicollis), also known as the Green Cherry-picker, Green Dick or Green Linnet is a species of bird
in the Meliphagidae family. It is similar in behaviour and appearance to the White-eared Honeyeater
and is endemic to Australia's
island state of Tasmania
. It was formerly considered a pest of orchards.
. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin
words flavus "yellow", and collis "neck". Other vernacular (common) names are the Green Cherry-picker, Green Dick or Green Linnet.
is bright olive green above, with a silver-grey crown, face, and underbelly contrasting with a distinctive bright yellow chin and throat. There is a small yellow ear-patch and the wing feathers are outlined with yellow. The bill is black and the eye is a deep ruby red. Females are smaller than males. Juvenile birds are very similar to adults, but duller.
Its natural habitat
is temperate forest
s, woodland
s and coastal scrub and heath. Both wet and dry sclerophyll
forests are the preferred habitats, with other habitats like alpine eucalypt woodland and open eucalypt woodland, cool rainforest, coastal heathlands, and shrublands also being used. They may also be found in golf courses, orchards, parks and gardens. Older stands of Dry Sclerophyll
may be adversely affected by fire.
s, Golden Whistler
s and Grey Shrike-Thrush
es and will chase them away from their territories.
s, also taking some nectar, and occasionally feeds on fruit or seeds. The species forages from the canopy down to the ground, usually singly or in pairs. Food is obtained by gleaning from trunks, branches and the ground, by probing between loose bark and the trunks and by occasional sallying flights. More rarely flowers are investigated for insects and occasionally nectar.
and the Pallid Cuckoo
.
. Another common call is a repeated tonk, tonk, tonk or tchook, tchook.
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
in the Meliphagidae family. It is similar in behaviour and appearance to the White-eared Honeyeater
White-eared Honeyeater
The White-eared Honeyeater is an Australian bird found in south east Australia, south west Australia an into south west of Queensland....
and is endemic to Australia's
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
island state of Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. It was formerly considered a pest of orchards.
Taxonomy
The species was originally described by French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1817, who originally placed it in the genus MelithreptusMelithreptus
Melithreptus is a genus of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. Its members are native to Australia. It is generally considered to contain seven species, although some authors have classified the related Blue-faced Honeyeater within this genus....
. Its specific epithet is derived from the Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
words flavus "yellow", and collis "neck". Other vernacular (common) names are the Green Cherry-picker, Green Dick or Green Linnet.
Description
The Yellow-throated Honeyeater is a medium sized honeyeater with a relatively long tail. Typical weight is 31 g and the average length is 21 cm. The plumagePlumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
is bright olive green above, with a silver-grey crown, face, and underbelly contrasting with a distinctive bright yellow chin and throat. There is a small yellow ear-patch and the wing feathers are outlined with yellow. The bill is black and the eye is a deep ruby red. Females are smaller than males. Juvenile birds are very similar to adults, but duller.
Distribution and habitat
The Yellow-throated Honeyeater is common and widespread on the mainland of Tasmania, King Island and the Furneaux Group.. The species is common and widespread, and is not considered threatened.Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is temperate forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
s, woodland
Woodland
Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...
s and coastal scrub and heath. Both wet and dry sclerophyll
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
forests are the preferred habitats, with other habitats like alpine eucalypt woodland and open eucalypt woodland, cool rainforest, coastal heathlands, and shrublands also being used. They may also be found in golf courses, orchards, parks and gardens. Older stands of Dry Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll
Sclerophyll is the term for a type of vegetation that has hard leaves and short internodes . The word comes from the Greek sclero and phyllon ....
may be adversely affected by fire.
Behaviour
The yellow throated Honeyeater is territorial and quite aggressive towards other honeyeaters, pardalotePardalote
Pardalotes or peep-wrens are a family, Pardalotidae, of very small, brightly coloured birds native to Australia, with short tails, strong legs, and stubby blunt beaks. This family is composed of four species in one genus, Pardalotus, and several subspecies. The name derives from a Greek word...
s, Golden Whistler
Golden Whistler
The Australian Golden Whistler is a species of bird found in forest, woodland, mallee, mangrove and scrub in Australia and in mountain forest in the Snow Mountains in the Papua Province of Indonesia. Most populations are resident, but some in south-eastern Australia migrate north during the winter...
s and Grey Shrike-Thrush
Grey Shrike-thrush
The Grey Shrikethrush or Grey Shrike-thrush , formerly commonly known as Grey Thrush, is one of the best-loved and most distinctive songbirds of Australasia. It is moderately common to common in most parts of Australia, but absent from the driest of the inland deserts...
es and will chase them away from their territories.
Feeding
The Yellow-throated Honeyeater feeds mainly on arthropodArthropod
An arthropod is an invertebrate animal having an exoskeleton , a segmented body, and jointed appendages. Arthropods are members of the phylum Arthropoda , and include the insects, arachnids, crustaceans, and others...
s, also taking some nectar, and occasionally feeds on fruit or seeds. The species forages from the canopy down to the ground, usually singly or in pairs. Food is obtained by gleaning from trunks, branches and the ground, by probing between loose bark and the trunks and by occasional sallying flights. More rarely flowers are investigated for insects and occasionally nectar.
Breeding
Breeding occurs from August to January. During breeding season females move into male territories. The nest is often within 1 m of the ground in a low bush or tussock, but may occasionally be found at up to 10 m in foliage. It is constructed by the female from grass, bark-shreds, leaves and spiders' web and lined with treefern fibres, wool and fur. This species is known for collecting nest hair from live animals such as horses, dogs and humans. The female incubates the eggs and feeds the young. A typical clutch is two or three pinkish eggs and the incubation period is approximately 16 days. The female alone incubates the eggs, and also feeds the nestlings. Hatchings also spend around 16 days in the nest. The male will drive off the fledglings and the female when they are old enough to disperse (usually at around three weeks). This species is parasitised by the Fan-tailed CuckooFan-tailed Cuckoo
The Fan-tailed Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Australia, Fiji, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu.-Habitat:...
and the Pallid Cuckoo
Pallid Cuckoo
The Pallid Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo in the Cuculidae family.It is found in Australia, Christmas Island, Indonesia, New Zealand, and Papua New Guinea....
.
Calls
The Yellow-throated Honeyeater makes a variety of calls. These include a breeding call, used for attracting mates and to advertise ownership of a territory. That call varies geographically but essentially consists of a whirring chur-uk, chur-uk or a loud de-wit and is used during breeding season.. Another common call is a repeated tonk, tonk, tonk or tchook, tchook.