Melithreptus brevirostris
Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~50% in a week ~80%
The brown-headed honeyeater (Melithreptus brevirostris) is a species of passerine bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is endemic to Australia. Its natural habitats are temperate forests and Mediterranean-type shrubby vegetation.
The brown-headed honeyeater was first described by Vigors & Horsfield in 1827. Its species name is derived from the Latin terms brevis 'short', and rostrum 'beak'. Five subspecies have been described. The race magnirostris from Kangaroo Island has a noticeably larger bill.
It is a member of the genus Melithreptus, with several species of similar size and all black-headed, apart from this species, in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. Molecular markers show the brown-headed honeyeater is most closely related to the black-chinned honeyeater, with the strong-billed honeyeater an earlier offshoot between 6.7 and 3.4 million years ago.
A small honeyeater ranging from 13 to 15 cm (5.2–6 in) in length, it is olive-brown above and buff below, with a brown head, nape and throat, a cream or orange patch of bare skin over the eye, and a dull white crescent-shaped patch on the nape. The legs and feet are orange. It makes a scratchy chwik... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Booderee National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-headed Honeyeater sighting in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park on a given day, based on 280 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 57th most-seen of the 170 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.
January, June and August
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-headed Honeyeater in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March and September, the lowest months.
Between 11 am and 2 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Brown-headed Honeyeater sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Brown-headed Honeyeater sightings, Hattah-Kulkyne National Park has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Flinders Chase (Australia, about 20%) and Great Otway National Park (Australia, about 20%).
Same family: Meliphagidae
The closest relatives of the Brown-headed Honeyeater that you can see in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (family Meliphagidae, Honeyeaters) are Yellow-plumed Honeyeater (about 70%), Noisy Miner (about 60%) and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (about 60%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown-headed Honeyeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (280 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.
