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Striped HoneyeaterAlternative name: "Lanceolated Honeyeater" Size: 22-25 cm; wing span 28-36 cm Weight: 40 g (average) |
SUBSECTIONS:
Classification
Distribution
Sightings
Photos
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
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Taxonomy, classification |
See Striped Honeyeater
at Wikipedia 
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
(for details refer to a field guide) |
Click here to display information on habitat,
range and finding this species
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Sightings |
Striped Honeyeaters are less common where we lived until 2006, 20 km south of Narrabri, NSW, than for example Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters.
Click here to display more sighting
information
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Photos |
Frontal view of a Striped Honeyeater
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2011]
View from beneath of a Striped Honeyeater; note that its feathers
are not wet from a bath, but spiny, similar to those of Spiny-cheeked Honeyeaters
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2008]
Near-frontal view of a Striped Honeyeater foraging in a eucalypt for
psyllids and lerps
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2012]
Near-dorsal view of a Striped Honeyeater foraging in a eucalypt for
psyllids and lerps
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2011]
Different posture of a Striped Honeyeater foraging in a eucalypt for
psyllids and lerps
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2011]
Near-dorsal view of a Striped Honeyeater
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2012]
Dorsal view of a Striped Honeyeater, showing the beautiful stripe
pattern giving the species its name
Striped Honeyeater drinking from a water bowl
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2008]
Lateral view of a Striped Honeyeater
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2008]
Profile view of a Striped Honeyeater
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2008]
Male Striped Honeyeater posing and singing a ballad for
his lady...
[20 km south of Narrabri, NSW, 2005]
Closer view of a Striped Honeyeater issuing its call
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2011]
Lateral view of an immature Striped Honeyeater
[Eulah Creek, NSW, February 2012]
Striped Honeyeater feeding one of three fledgling chicks
waiting silently in an acacia tree
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, January 2008]
The same Striped Honeyeater chick (the strongest of the three), having
climbed to a higher branch than its siblings, getting the feed again
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, January 2008]
Close-up view of the same little Striped Honeyeater
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, January 2008]
This photo of a fledgling Striped Honeyeater (this one still had trouble
flying and finding its balance on the perch) shows clearly the brown tints
of the wing plumage that will completely disappear when the bird molts into
its adult plumage
[Bullawa Creek SCA,
NSW, November 2008]
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Breeding information |
| Breeding season: Jul - Jan | Eggs: 3 - 4 | Incubation period: 14 days | Fledging age: ca. 15 - 17 days |
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Nest |
"bungobittah", "malunna" = Nest [Aboriginal] |
| Type: Hanging basket | Material: Grass, webs | Height above ground: 2 - 5 |
Striped Honeyeaters like nesting at the lower end of big mistletoes or drooping branches of trees, such as e.g. Acacia salicina or Weeping Myall.
In the spring of 2007 a pair of Striped Honeyeaters started building a nest in our garden, 20 km east of Narrabri. However, the nest was later abandoned, because the birds could not establish themselves in the habitat due to the presence of various other, stronger species, such as Noisy Friarbirds, Little Friarbirds and, most prominently, Singing Honeyeaters. They finally succeeded in 2010, see below.
Close-up view of a Striped Honeyeater's nest; note how the whole
construction hinges on the threads tied above the little fork at the top
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2010]
Striped Honeyeater sitting on its nest; note how low the bird
is in the nest - a sign that it is still sitting on eggs; once
the chicks hatch, it will be sitting higher while keeping them
warm
[Eulah Creek, NSW, January 2011]
Striped Honeyeaters are vigilant while incubating...
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]
... they will always keep an eye on the observer
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]
Striped Honeyeater bringing new material for its nest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2011]
Striped Honeyeater tearing apart a spider's web for use in building its nest
[Eulah Creek, NSW, September 2012]
This Striped Honeyeater nest is at the end of a stringy branch of an
Acacia salicina
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2011]
From the eggs shown below three Striped Honeyeater chicks hatched,
seen here begging for food
[Eulah Creek, NSW, December 2011]
Striped Honeyeater nest in a flowering mistletoe
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, February 2009]
Adult Striped Honeyeater bringing home food for its chicks
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, February 2009]
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Eggs |
"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "nooluk" "pateena" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal] |
| Size: 24 x 17 mm | Colour: Creamy, sparsely speckled with light-brown speckles | Shape: Tapered oval |
View from above into a Striped Honeyeater's nest with three eggs in it
[Eulah Creek, NSW, November 2011]
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Behaviour |
| Social behaviour: Territorial | Mobility: Dispersive | Elementary unit: Pair |
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Food, Diet |
| Adults: Nectar, insects | Dependents: Insects | Water intake: Daily |
Like many other honeyeaters Striped Honeyeaters like the flowers of bottlebrush trees and various types of grevilleas. Again like many other honeyeaters, they do not exclusively feed on nectar, but use their sticky tongue to take insects too. Also known to feed on fruit and seeds.
Striped Honeyeater acrobatics while feeding in a bottlebrush tree
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]
This Striped Honeyeater has picked a psyllid insect with lerp (the insect's
crystallized secretion) from the underside of a eucalypt leaf
[Eulah Creek, NSW, May 2011]
Failing to find lerps, this Striped Honeyeater is picking off psyllids
[Eulah Creek, NSW, August 2011]
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Additional information |
There is a separate page with a short description of psyllids and lerps.
