Hi Julie,
You are correct, it is a juvenile White-eared Honeyeater, told by the brownish head (blackish in adults) and the pale yellow wash in the “white ear” (adults
have a completely white “ear”). The banding teams at The Charcoal Tank Nature Reserve and the Weddin Mountains catch fairly large numbers of White-eared Honeyeaters and they go through several different plumage phases before they become completely adult. This
makes it somewhat frustrating for the banders as we can’t always be certain of the actual age of the birds.
Cheers,
Mark
From: Julie Clark [
Sent: Thursday, 31 December 2015 5:27 PM
To: COG Chatline
Subject: [canberrabirds] Honeyeater Id Please
Photo (very poor!) taken today at Tharwa Sandwash ... think it might be a young White-eared Honeyeater, but have never seen a young one before.
Id confirmation or correction appreciated.
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