Brown Honeyeater

Brown Honeyeater

Lichmera indistincta

Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Bali Barat National Park

In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%

216 Verified sightings at Bali Barat National Park From 2019 to 2026
1,644 In all 14 parks
July Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Brown Honeyeater

The brown honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta) is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It belongs to the honeyeaters, a group of birds which have highly developed brush-tipped tongues adapted for nectar feeding. Honeyeaters are found mainly in Australia, New Guinea, and parts of Indonesia, but the brown honeyeater is unique in that it also occurs on the island of Bali, making it the only honeyeater to be found west of the Wallace Line, the biogeographical boundary between the Australian-Papuan and Oriental zoogeographical regions.

It is a medium-small brownish bird, with yellow-olive panels in the tail and wing, and a yellow tuft behind the eye. It is widespread across western, northern and eastern Australia, New Guinea and surrounding islands, and the Lesser Sundas of Indonesia. Throughout this range, the brown honeyeater occupies a range of habitats from mangroves to eucalypt woodlands. It is seasonally nomadic within its local area, following flowering food plants. While it usually forages alone, it also feeds in small groups, or flocks of mixed honeyeater species. Nectar and insects form its diet. It occupies the same breeding territory each year, and lays two or three eggs in a cup-shaped nest woven from grass and soft bark. Both sexes contribute to nest building and feeding the young. It has a loud, clear, musical song, described as the best of all the honeyeaters.

While the brown honeyeater is declining in some areas, such as the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia, overall its population levels and distribution are sufficient to have it described by the IUCN as being of least concern for conservation. Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:07

Australia · 2024

© Tom Cooney · XC1103325 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Song1:09

Australia · 2025

© Peter Boesman · XC1066625 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Dawn song1:05

Australia · 2023

© James Lambert · XC791441 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~60%
2 Noosa National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
3 Litchfield National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
4 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
5 Cape Range 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
6 Bali Barat National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
7 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
8 Springbrook National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
9 Komodo National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
10 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
11 Rottnest Island 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
12 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
13 Lamington National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
14 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Perth 🇦🇺 Australia
~60%
2 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
~50%
3 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
4 Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
5 Denpasar 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Brown Honeyeater in Bali Barat National Park?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Honeyeater sighting in Bali Barat National Park on a given day, based on 216 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 56th most-seen of the 173 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 50%, and over a week to about 80%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Brown Honeyeater in Bali Barat National Park?

June–July, September and December

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Honeyeater in Bali Barat National Park on a given day, against about 10% in January to April, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Brown Honeyeater?

Between 8 and 11 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown Honeyeater sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Which relatives of the Brown Honeyeater live in Bali Barat National Park?

Same order: Passeriformes

The closest relatives of the Brown Honeyeater that you can see in Bali Barat National Park (order Passeriformes, Perching Birds) are Yellow-vented Bulbul (about 80%), Bali Myna (about 70%) and Common Iora (about 70%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Brown Honeyeater sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Brown Honeyeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Bali Barat National Park (216 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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