Brown Honeyeater

Brown Honeyeater

Lichmera indistincta

Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Jakarta

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

152 Verified sightings at Jakarta
1,644 In all 14 parks From 2019 to 2026
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 Jakarta?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Honeyeater sighting in Jakarta on a given day, based on 152 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 43rd most-seen of the 138 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Brown Honeyeater in Jakarta?

June and July

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Brown Honeyeater in Jakarta on a given day, against under 5% in March, the lowest month. Those are among Jakarta's driest months, with about 90 mm of rain a month against 370 mm in February.

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.

Is Jakarta the best place to see a Brown Honeyeater?

3rd of 5

Of the 5 cities where we can rate Brown Honeyeater sightings, Jakarta ranks 3rd at about 20%. The best odds are in Perth (Australia, about 60%) and Brisbane (Australia, about 50%).

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 Jakarta (152 verified sightings), 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.

← Back to Jakarta