Graceful Honeyeater
Other common names: Graceful/Slender-billed Meliphaga, Southern Graceful/Slender-billed/Grey-breasted/Lesser Yellowspotted/ Little Yellow-spotted/Eastern Graceful Honeyeater
Taxonomy: Ptilotis gracilis Gould, 1866, Cape York, north Queensland, Australia.
Nominate race is mostly dark olive above, sometimes faintly darker on forehead, grading across side of head to paler grayish-olive on chin and throat (in best views yellow tinge on chin may be visible), with diffusely dark lores, prominent yellow spot on rear ear-coverts (varying from rounded to diamond-shaped, never crescentic), short yellow to orange-yellow gape (usually brighter and more orange than ear-spot)that meets short, thin pale yellow rictal streak; remiges and edges of tail brighter yellow-olive than upperparts; underparts pale olive-grey, slightly paler than upperparts, with narrow and inconspicuous yellowish stripe in centre of belly; undertail olive-grey, underwing pale grey; iris grey-brown or bluish-grey; bill black;legs pale to dark grey or grayish-brown. Sexes alike in plumage,
Not Threatened
Nominate race is mostly dark olive above, sometimes faintly darker on forehead, grading across side of head to paler grayish-olive on chin and throat (in best views yellow tinge on chin may be visible), with diffusely dark lores, prominent yellow spot on rear ear-coverts (varying from rounded to diamond-shaped, never crescentic), short yellow to orange-yellow gape (usually brighter and more orange than ear-spot)that meets short, thin pale yellow rictal streak; remiges and edges of tail brighter yellow-olive than upperparts; underparts pale olive-grey, slightly paler than upperparts, with narrow and inconspicuous yellowish stripe in centre of belly; undertail olive-grey, underwing pale grey; iris grey-brown or bluish-grey; bill black;legs pale to dark grey or grayish-brown. Sexes alike in plumage, male slightly larger than female. Juvenile is very like adult, but mantle, back, scapulars and rump washed brown, moustachial stripe less distinct. Race imitatrix is very like nominate, but top of head and most of upperbody slightly darker, yellow of chin and throat richer, breast darker and area of yellow on belly smaller, also male has shorter wing.
VOICE. Rather noisy. Throughout range, „chip“ appears to be most common call; in Australia a soft, melodious „plit“ or „chip“ (occasionally sharper-sounding variant, „plik“), uttered once or at intervals (e.g. every c 20 seconds); in New Guinea and Aru Is as sharp or staccato „kip“, „tchick“, „tick“, „tuk“, „tup“ or „chup“. Also high-pitched ascending whistled „wip-wip-wip...“ or heard on wet tropics of NE Queensland; in New Guinea as „ki-ki-ki...“or as series of clear querulous piping notes; on Aru Is as up to 8 identically repeated whipped upslurs Other vocalizations include slightly garsh series of 4-8 „plick“ notes at c. 2 per second (again, heard Cape York Peninsula but not wet tropics), rapid series of up to 7 identical snapped notesfrom Aru Is probably same Call; peevish, whining scolding note; slow „reet-reet-reet...“ of c. 5 notes; quicker „preep-preep-preep...“, also of c. 5 syllables (common Cape York, rare in wet tropics); series of
notes similar to „chuck“ call of Slender-billed Cicadabird; high-pitched rapid chattering sometimes heard Cape York; repeated „tswee“ in Aru Is; and thin trill ending in upward note, heard in New Guinea but only rarely.
15 -17 cm; male 14 -17 g and female 12.5 - 16.5 g (nominate), male 14 - 17.9 g and female 12.5 - 17 g (imitatrix)
Taxonomy: Ptilotis gracilis Gould, 1866, Cape York, north Queensland, Australia.
On basis of molecular evidence, genus consists of two clades; present species is part of group which contains also M. orientalis, M. analoga, M. albonotata, M. vicina, M. cinereifrons, M. mimikae, M. montana, M. flavirictus, M. albilineata, M. fordiana and M. reticulata. Sometimes treated as conspecific with M. cinereifrons. In NE Australia (N Queensland) races possibly intergrade in narrow zone roughly between Cooktown and Ayton. Two subspecies recognized.
Subspecies and Distribution:
- gracilis (Gould, 1866) - Aru Is, S New Guinea (Triton Bay E to Purari Delta), Bristow I (off Daru, in extreme N Torres Strait), and coastal and subcoastal NE Australia (N Queensland from Cape York S to Archer-Mitchell rivers and, in E, to Princess Charlotte Bay and Cooktown-Ayton region).
- imitatrix (Mathews, 1912) - coastal NE Queensland from around Princess Charlotte Bay and Cooktown S to Halifax Bay and S Paluma Range, and inland to Atherton Tableland.
In Australia, rainforest or forest edge, including vine scrubs and regrowth rainforest, and in adjoining open forests and woodlands of Eucalyptus and Melaleuca with sclerophyllous, grassy or rain forest understorey; also Melaleuca swamp-woodland, semi-deciduous dune-woodland, and semetimes mangroves or Lantana thickets, especially beside wetlands or rainforests. In New Guinea, mangroves, secondary growth, forest edge, primary forest, monsoon forest, savanna woodland, riverine forest and lightly timbered country; also sago (Metroxylon) scrub. Often in gardens and orchards on towns and villages. Lowlands in New Guinea; in Australia from coast to foothills and ranges, occasionally tablelands, mostly below 500 m, rarely to c. 800 m.
Nectar, fruit and insects. Forages in canopy, mid-canopy (including in crowns of substage trees) and undetstory shrubs, usually 2-18 m above ground. Searches at flowers, twigs and small branches, fruit and foliage, tangles of vines, and on epiphytes; sometimes at flowers of exotic trees and shrubs in gardens and at flowers of Amyema mistletoe; probably also on tree trunks occasionally. In New Guinea, forages at flowering sago. Nectar obtained by probing flowers; insects obtained mainly by gleaning, less often by sally-striking on air, sally-hovering at outer foliage and spider webs, probably also by flutter-chasing.Usually singly or in twos (probably pairs); occasionally in small parties or associated with other honeyeaters in flowering trees or other food sources.
In NE Australia breeds Sept-Feb, with estimated start of laying Oct-Nov and Jan-Feb and nestling late Oct to early Jan; one active nest late Aug in New Guinea. Nest a near cup typically of moss, vines roots, bark, fibre, thin strips of paperbark or other plant material, covered with moss, lichen, small pieces of bark or occasionally insect cocoons or bound with spider web, lined with plant down or other fibres or vines, external diameter 6.4-7.6 cm, depth 4.4-7.6 cm, internal diameter 5.7- 6.4 cm, depth 3.8 cm, usually suspended by rim from small forked branch in outer foliage of live plant, sometimes overhanging water, generally 0.75-3 m (mean 1.5 m) above ground but up to 15 m in Australia and once at 21 m in New Guinea. Clutch usually 2 eggs; estimated incubation period at nest 15 days, and two estimates of nestling period c. 10 days and c. 11 days