Nesoptilotis leucotis
Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The white-eared honeyeater (Nesoptilotis leucotis) is a medium-sized honeyeater found in Australia. It is a member of the family Meliphagidae (honeyeaters and Australian chats) which has 190 recognised species with about half of them found in Australia. This makes them members of the most diverse family of birds in Australia. White-eared honeyeaters are easily identifiable by their olive-green body, black head and white ear-patch.
The white-eared honeyeater was first described by English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 as Turdus leucotis. It has been reclassified several times and was previously named Lichenostomus leucotis and Ptilotis leucotis torringtoni.
The white-eared honeyeater was previously placed in the genus Lichenostomus, but it was moved to Nesoptilotis after a molecular phylogenetic analysis, published in 2011, showed that the original genus was polyphyletic. It is a sister taxon to the yellow-throated honeyeater (N. flavicollis) that occurs in Tasmania, and they belong to a clade that contains the genera Entomyzon, Melithreptus, and Foulehaio.
There are two recognised subspecies: the nominate subspecies Nesoptilotis leucotis leucotis is found from eastern...
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Great Otway National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 2 | Flinders Chase | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 3 | Kosciuszko National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 4 | Grampians National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 5 | Hattah-Kulkyne National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 6 | Pilliga National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 7 | Flinders Ranges National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 8 | Phillip Island Nature Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 9 | Blue Mountains National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 10 | Wilsons Promontory National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia | |
| 11 | Royal National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a White-eared Honeyeater sighting in Phillip Island Nature Park on a given day, based on 314 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 54th most-seen of the 149 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.
October
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a White-eared Honeyeater in Phillip Island Nature Park on a given day, against about 10% in May–June and December–March, the lowest months.
Between 1 and 4 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most White-eared Honeyeater sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
8th of 11
Of the 11 parks where we can rate White-eared Honeyeater sightings, Phillip Island Nature Park ranks 8th at about 20%. The best odds are in Great Otway National Park (Australia, about 40%), Flinders Chase (Australia, about 40%) and Kosciuszko National Park (Australia, about 30%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Meliphagidae
The closest relatives of the White-eared Honeyeater that you can see in Phillip Island Nature Park (family Meliphagidae, Honeyeaters) are Red Wattlebird (about 70%), Little Wattlebird (about 60%) and New Holland Honeyeater (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the White-eared Honeyeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Phillip Island Nature Park (314 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.
