Bird guideLewin's Honeyeater

A medium-sized olive-gray honeyeater with a pale yellow cheek patch and a relatively stout bill.

⚠️Not listed
🌿Endemic to Australia

At a glance

FamilyHoneyeaters
SizeSmall
RarityCommon
HabitatOf the three easily confusable species, this is the only one found away from the tropics; it occurs in wetter forests and gardens all along the eastern coast of Australia.
Best timeReported across most months in Queensland, with no narrow seasonal peak.

Sounds

Sound sample
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Recorded by Marc Anderson

Range map

Range map

2632visible hotspots
379975visible records
2states
Low confidenceMediumHigh confidence

Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.

Species notes

Overview

Cheek patch is often a crescent compared to the circular patch on Graceful Honeyeater and the oval path on Yellow-spotted Honeyeater. Adults have a bluish eye, while the similar Graceful Honeyeater has a blue-gray eye and Yellow-spotted Honeyeater has a brown eye.

Behavior

Listen for the rapid staccato machine-gun call of Lewin’s compared to the loud repeated whistles of the Yellow-spotted Honeyeater and the more simple, single note call of Graceful Honeyeater. Of the three easily confusable species, this is the only one found away from the tropics; it occurs in wetter forests and gardens all along the eastern coast of Australia.

Regional timing

New South Wales
Peak: January to December169,572 records
Queensland
Peak: January to December196,262 records
Victoria
Peak: November to January13,517 records
Australian Capital Territory
Peak: March431 records
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