Tawny-crowned Honeyeater

Taxobox
name = Tawny-crowned Honeyeater


regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Passeriformes
familia = Meliphagidae
genus = "Gliciphila"
species = "G. melanops"
binomial = "Gliciphila melanops"
binomial_authority = Latham 1802
synonyms = "Phylidonyris melanops"

The Tawny-crowned Honeyeater ("Gliciphila melanops") is a passerine bird native to eastern Australia.

The Tawny-crowned Honeyeater was originally described by ornithologist John Latham in 1802 as "Certhia melanops". [Latham, J. (1802). "Supplementum Indicis Ornithologici, sive Systematis Ornithologiae." London: G. Leigh, J. & S. Sotheby 74 pp.] Its specific epithet is derived from the Ancient Greek terms "melano-" 'black' and "ōps" 'face'.cite book | author = Liddell, Henry George and Robert Scott | year = 1980 | title = A Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged Edition) | publisher = Oxford University Press | location = United Kingdom | isbn =0-19-910207-4]

It was previously classified in the genus "Phylidonyris" but a recent molecular study has shown it to be more distantly related to members of that genus. [Driskell, A.C., Christidis, L (2004) Phylogeny and evolution of the Australo-Papuanhoneyeaters (Passeriformes, Meliphagidae) "Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution" 31 943–960] It was placed in the genus "Gliciphila" by Gregory Mathews in 1912, and this name was used in its current binomial name. DNA analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae (Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and Maluridae (Australian fairy-wrens) in a large Meliphagoidea superfamily. [Barker, F.K., Cibois, A., Schikler, P., Feinstein, J., and Cracraft, J (2004) Phylogeny and diversification of the largest avian radiation. "Proceedings Natl. Acad. Sci., USA" 101 11040-11045]

The Tawny-crowned Honeyeater is found in from the North Coast of New South Wales through to the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia, as well as Victoria and Tasmania. It also occurs in south west Western Australia from Israelite Bay westwards. Its natural habitat is low shrubland and heath.

The breeding season may take place from June to December. The bulky cup-shaped nest is made of bark, grass, and even seaweed and line with softer material such as fur or wool. It is hidden among shrubby vegetation. The clutch size is 2-3, occasionally 4. Measuring 21 x 14 mm, the oval eggs are beige, with buff or pink-tinged splotches.cite book | last = Beruldsen | first = G | title = Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs | publisher = self | date = 2003 | location = Kenmore Hills, Qld | pages = p. 324 |isbn = 0-646-42798-9]

References