Melithreptus brevirostris
Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~30% in a week ~50%
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 |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-headed Honeyeater sighting in Kosciuszko National Park on a given day, based on 55 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 59th most-seen of the 127 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.
January and August
In those months about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Brown-headed Honeyeater in Kosciuszko National Park on a given day, against under 5% in April–May, July and October, the lowest months. June has too few records to rate.
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.
5th of 10
Of the 10 parks where we can rate Brown-headed Honeyeater sightings, Kosciuszko National Park ranks 5th at about 10%. The best odds are in Hattah-Kulkyne National Park (Australia, about 20%), Flinders Chase (Australia, about 20%) and Great Otway National Park (Australia, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Brown-headed Honeyeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Kosciuszko National Park (55 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.
