Belonging to the family Meliphagidae (that includes honeyeaters and chats) the Singing Honeyeater (Gavicalis virescens) is a small bird found across Australia. Originally described as Meliphaga virescens, it has been moved to the genus Gavicalis. The specific epithet is the Latin virescens meaning ‘greenish’.
They have a grey-brown appears, with tail and wings that are olive-green and yellow. A broad, black stripe runs from the behind the beak to the back, with a yellow streak immediately below the black stripe under the eye. The Singing Honeyeater are between 17–22 cm in length.
Their song varies according to where they live and ranges from scratchy to melodious.
The Singing Honeyeater is found in a diverse range of habitats, from coastal areas, shrubland, woodland, and the arid centre of Australia.
More information in Alice Springs Birds | Singing Honeyeater in Alice Springs.
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- Scientific classification
- Kingdom: Animalia
- Phylum: Chordata
- Subphylum: Vertebrata
- Informal: Gnathostomata
- Class: Aves
- Order: Passeriformes
- Suborder: Passeri
- Informal: Corvida
- Family: Meliphagidae
- Genus: Gavicalis
- Species: Gavicalis virescens
Footnote & References
- Gavicalis virescens (Vieillot, 1817), Atlas of Living Australia, https://bie.ala.org.au/species/https://biodiversity.org.au/afd/taxa/6ccdb357-d666-4097-b0f6-88bb1a392112
- Singing Honeyeater (Gavicalis virescens) Australia, iNaturalistAU, https://inaturalist.ala.org.au/taxa/370319-Gavicalis-virescens
- Singing Honeyeater (Gavicalis virescens), eBird, https://ebird.org/species/sinhon1
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