John and others:
For what it is worth, this is the text on the species in Th GBS Report.
Crescent Honeyeater Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera
This honeyeater is usually very active and noisy as it feeds in low bushes. It
is only recorded singly or in small groups. Unlike similar species, the sexes
differ in appearance, and unlike most honeyeaters, it is not a social bird. It
is said to require a water source in a garden area to keep it around, also
requires some dense cover and a good stock of flowering bushes such as
Grevillea. This species sometimes joins in the honeyeater migration. In April
they are just coming down from the high country. It shows the typical
altitudinal migrant’s pattern, is almost totally absent from November to March,
with many of those months having no observations. It arrives in April and
builds up to a peak in July then declines through to November. The abundance
fluctuated, with a big peak in the middle years of the survey, across a whole
range of sites. The numbers in 1990 were approximately five times the average
of most other years and it reached A=0.22 in July. The breeding record is a
dependent young mid October Year 9 at Site 32.
Graphs on page: 99, Rank: 70, Breeding Rank: 75, A = 0.02801, F = 13.16%, W =
22.3, R = 2.000%, G = 1.40.
The species appears to now be a much less frequent visitor to suburban Canberra
than it was in the years covered by the GBS Report (which needs updating). At
that time, it was a fairly regular visitor to my place in winter but not for
several years. Although I have encountered then in Wanniassa since then.
Philip
-----Original Message-----
From: Canberrabirds On Behalf Of John Brannan via Canberrabirds
Sent: Friday, 5 June, 2026 1:36 PM
To:
Cc: John Brannan <>
Subject: Definite Crescent Honeyeater in Florey
The Crescent Honeyeater was back just now, perched in clear view on a dead
branch in the back garden. It was making a repeated “jik-jik” call and hawking
for insects.
John Brannan
> I got a few quick glimpses of a bird rummaging round in our grevilleas
> yesterday — a bit of yellow on the wings and a view of the breast with the
> characteristic black crescents down each side of a grey breast (not the
> white/fawn colour of a spinebill). I’d also heard an unfamiliar call in the
> garden earlier, just a single harsh “jik” that matches the winter call of the
> Crescent. Haven’t seen or heard it today, so I suspect it has already moved
> on.
>
> John Brannan
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