Ptilotula keartlandi
The Grey-headed Honeyeater (Ptilotula keartlandi) is a medium-sized passerine, typically measuring 12-16 cm in length and weighing between 12-20 grams. Its most striking identification feature is a pale grey head, sharply delineated by a distinct dark, often blackish, eye-stripe that extends behind the eye, complementing a prominent yellow patch at the carpal joint of the wing. The body plumage is generally plain greenish-yellow to olive-grey on the upperparts, transitioning to paler yellow o...
This species primarily inhabits arid and semi-arid zones of inland Australia, preferring rocky gorges, spinifex-covered hills, and eucalypt woodlands often associated with watercourses or granite outcrops, typically at low to moderate elevations.
Their diet is largely omnivorous, consisting primarily of nectar from a variety of flowering plants, insects gleaned from foliage or caught in flight, and sugary lerps secreted by scale insects.
Grey-headed Honeyeaters are diurnal and generally encountered singly or in pairs, though small family groups may form outside the main breeding season. They are active and versatile foragers, employing a mixed strategy that includes gleaning insects and sugary lerps from foliage, probing a variet...
The Grey-headed Honeyeater is endemic to the arid and semi-arid interior of Australia, possessing a widespread but somewhat fragmented distribution across several states and territories. Its primary breeding range extends from the Pilbara and Kimberley regions of Western Australia, eastward acros...
Least Concern
- The Grey-headed Honeyeater is named after G.A. Keartland, a naturalist who was part of the Horn Expedition to Central Australia in 1894, making a significant contribution to early ornithological knowledge of the region. - This species possesses a specialized brush-tipped tongue, typical of hone...