Caligavis chrysops
Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
The yellow-faced honeyeater (Caligavis chrysops) is a small to medium-sized bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It takes its common and scientific names from the distinctive yellow stripes on the sides of its head. Its loud, clear call often begins twenty or thirty minutes before dawn. It is widespread across eastern and southeastern Australia, in open sclerophyll forests from coastal dunes to high-altitude subalpine areas, and woodlands along creeks and rivers. Comparatively short-billed for a honeyeater, it is thought to have adapted to a diet of flies, spiders, and beetles, as well as nectar and pollen from the flowers of plants, such as Banksia and Grevillea, and soft fruits. It catches insects in flight as well as gleaning them from the foliage of trees and shrubs.
Some yellow-faced honeyeaters are sedentary, but hundreds of thousands migrate northwards between March and May to spend the winter in southern Queensland, and return in July and August to breed in southern New South Wales and Victoria. They form socially monogamous pairs and lay two or three eggs in a delicate cup-shaped nest. The success rate can be low, and the pairs nest several times during the breeding season.
Honeyeaters' preferred woodland habitat is vulnerable to the effects of land-clearing, grazing, and weeds. As it is common and widespread, the yellow-faced honeyeater is considered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to be of least concern for conservation. It is considered a pest in orchards in some areas. Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Springbrook National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Lamington National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-faced Honeyeater sighting in Sydney on a given day, based on 1,758 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 63rd most-seen of the 243 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 30%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.
May
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Yellow-faced Honeyeater in Sydney on a given day, against under 5% in February, the lowest month.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Yellow-faced Honeyeater sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 3 cities where we can rate Yellow-faced Honeyeater sightings, Sydney ranks 2nd at about 10%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Brisbane (Australia, about 10%).
Same family: Meliphagidae
The closest relatives of the Yellow-faced Honeyeater that you can see in Sydney (family Meliphagidae, Honeyeaters) are Noisy Miner (about 90%), Red Wattlebird (about 30%) and New Holland Honeyeater (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Yellow-faced Honeyeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Sydney (1,758 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.
