Bird of the day
White-throated honeyeater
Melithreptus albogularis
The white-throated honeyeater (Melithreptus albogularis) is a bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to New Guinea and eastern and northern Australia. It is 11.5 to 14.5 cm (4.5 to 5.7 in) long, olive-green above and white below, with a black head, a white or pale blue patch over the eye, and a white stripe across the nape.
The adult white-throated honeyeater is 11.5 to 14.5 cm (4.5 to 5.7 in) long, with olive-green or yellow-green upperparts, yellower on the rump, and white throat and underparts, a black head, a blue-white patch of bare skin over the eye, and a white stripe across the nape. The bill is black, the eyes red-brown, and the legs purple-brown. Various calls have been recorded.
Western Australian Gilbert's honeyeaters (Melithreptus chloropsis) also have a white eye-patch, and so can be difficult to distinguish, but there is no range overlap. Eastern white-naped honeyeaters (M. lunatus) have a red eye-patch.
Aliases
Melithreptus albogularis