You are here

Home ›

Black Honeyeater

Did you know?

Black Honeyeaters, especially females, often eat charcoal and ash at old camp-fire remains.

Calls
High-pitched, weak 'peeee', usually by breeding males.
Facts and Figures
Research Species: 
No
Minimum Size: 
10cm
Maximum Size: 
13cm
Average size: 
12cm
Average weight: 
10g
Breeding season: 
July to December
Clutch Size: 
Usually two, rarely one or three.
Incubation: 
15 days
Nestling Period: 
16 days
Conservation Status
Federal: 
Secure
NSW: 
Secure
NT: 
Secure
QLD: 
Secure
SA: 
Secure
TAS: 
Not present
VIC: 
Not present
WA: 
Not present
Associated Plants
Plants associated with this species
Emu-bush
Eremophila species
mistletoes
Basic Information
Scientific Name: 
Sugomel niger
Featured bird groups: 
Honeyeaters
Atlas Number: 
589
What does it look like?
Description: 

The Black Honeyeater is a small honeyeater with a long slender down-curved bill, a plump body and a short tail. Males are black and white, with a black head, neck, wings and upperparts, white underbody and a black stripe running down from the centre of the chest to the abdomen (belly). Females have a brown head and upper body, with a pale eye-stripe, and have a speckled grey-brown chest grading into a white abdomen. This species is found in the drier parts of the mainland and has been called the Charcoal Bird.

Similar species: 

The related Pied Honeyeater, C. variegatus, has similar colourings in both male and female, but it is a larger bird, with a longer tail, thicker, paler bill and has a distinctive crescent-shaped bare skin patch below the eye. Males also lack the central chest stripe and have a white patch on the wing while females have a black and white wing patch (the Black Honeyeater males have an all-black wing while the females have a much plainer grey-brown wing) and a more obviously streaked throat.

Where does it live?
Distribution: 

The Black Honeyeater is a bird of inland regions, being widespread in western and central Queensland, widespread but scattered through western New South Wales to the South Australian border and occasionally recorded in the Victorian Mallee and Wimmera regions. In South Australia, it occurs in the south-east from Innamincka to the Flinders Ranges and occasionally to the Adelaide Plain and Yorke Peninsula. It is widespread in Western Australia, north of 30°S, through the Gascoyne and Pilbara regions to Karratha and Port Hedland, with some rare records in the south, near Kalgoorlie. In the Northern Territory, it is widespread around Alice Springs and areas west or south-west, with some vagrants to the Top End.

Habitat: 

The Black Honeyeater is found in open woodlands and shrublands of arid and semi-arid regions, especially those with an understorey of Emu-bush, Eremophila species, as well as in Mulga or mallee eucalypt woodlands and Broombush, Melaleuca uncinata. It will also be found in spinifex savanna where flowering shrubs such as grevilleas and paperbarks occur.

Seasonal movements: 

Considered to be nomadic, with seasonal movements related to flowering of food plants, especially Emu-bush and mistletoe, as well as in response to drought. Some movements are southwards in spring and summer, moving northwards again in autumn and winter. Irruptions (sudden population increases) can occur in some areas.

What does it do?
Feeding: 

The Black Honeyeater feeds on insects and nectar, probing flowers and foliage with its long fine bill. It is mainly found in the crowns of eucalypts, at clumps or mistletoe or in shrubs, especially Emu-bush,Eremophila. Normally found alone, in pairs or small flocks, it may sometimes form large mixed flocks at food sources, associating with other honeyeaters such as the Pied Honeyeater and woodswallows e.g. White-browed Woodswallows, Artamus superciliosus. Black Honeyeaters, particularly females, have often been recorded eating charcoal and ash from old camp-fires.

Breeding: 

Breeding pairs of Black Honeyeaters will nest in groups or loose colonies, with males aggressively defending a small breeding territory against members of their own species as well as other honeyeaters (e.g. Singing and Tawny-crowned Honeyeaters) or Crimson Chats. The female builds the shallow, open cup-shaped nest from fine twigs, grass, and other plant material bound with spiderweb, lining it with grass, roots, fibre, horse hair, flowers or wool. The nest is usually close to the ground in the fork of a small tree or shrub. The female incubates alone, but both sexes feed and care for the young.

Living with us

The Black Honeyeater may be adversely affected by the loss of Emu-bush to grazing and weed control by farmers.

References: 
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, Volume 5 {(Tyrant-flycatchers} to Chats).
  • Share/Save
 and   @birdsinbackyards
                 Subscribe to me on YouTube