Gavicalis versicolor
Silhouette: Rachael Joakim · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
The varied honeyeater (Gavicalis versicolor) is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is found in coastal areas of New Guinea and eastern Cape York Peninsula in Queensland, Australia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests.
The varied honeyeater was previously placed in the genus Lichenostomus, but was moved to Gavicalis after molecular phylogenetic analysis, published in 2011, showed that the original genus was polyphyletic. The varied honeyeater has two accepted subspecies which are distributed as follows:
G. v. sonoroides - Raja Ampat Island (northwest of New Guinea), Yapen (Geelvink Bay island, northwest New Guinea), coastal New Guinea (except southwest) through northern New Guinea and Milne Bay islands, and D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago (east of southeast New Guinea).
G. v. versicolor - coastal southern New Guinea, Torres Strait islands and northeast Cape York Peninsula, northeast Queensland (far northeast Australia). Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Raja Ampat | 🇮🇩 Indonesia | |
| 2 | Daintree National Park | 🇦🇺 Australia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Varied Honeyeater sighting in Raja Ampat on a given day, based on 245 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 68th most-seen of the 200 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.
March
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Varied Honeyeater in Raja Ampat on a given day, against about 10% in February, April–May, July–August and December, the lowest months.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Varied Honeyeater sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Yes
Of the 2 parks where we can rate Varied Honeyeater sightings, Raja Ampat has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Daintree National Park (Australia, under 5%).
Same family: Meliphagidae
The closest relatives of the Varied Honeyeater that you can see in Raja Ampat (family Meliphagidae, Honeyeaters) are Helmeted Friarbird (about 70%), Mimic Honeyeater (about 40%) and Puff-backed Honeyeater (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Varied Honeyeater is recorded against all the birds logged in Raja Ampat (245 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.
