Biology:Meliphaga

Meliphaga is a genus of birds in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae.

The genus was introduced by the English artist John Lewin in 1808. The name Meliphaga combines the Ancient Greek meli meaning "honey" and phagos meaning eating. The type species is Lewin's honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii).

In 2019 molecular phylogenetic studies found that Meliphaga was paraphyletic with the monotypic genus Oreornis, containing the orange-cheeked honeyeater, embedded within it. To created monophyletic genera, the genus was split up and species moved into the resurrected genera Territornis and Microptilotis, leaving just three species in Meliphaga. In 2025 the AviList team instead adopted a broader Meliphaga that contained 17 species and included the orange-cheeked honeyeater.

The genus contains 17 species:

• Puff-backed honeyeater, Meliphaga aruensis – New Guinea including western Papuan islands, Aru and Trobriand islands, and D'Entrecasteaux Archipelago
• Yellow-spotted honeyeater, Meliphaga notata – northeast Australia
• Lewin's honeyeater, Meliphaga lewinii – east Australia
• Streak-breasted honeyeater, Meliphaga reticulata – eastern Lesser Sunda Islands (Timor and Semau)
• Kimberley honeyeater, Meliphaga fordiana – northwestern Australia (northwestern Kimberley region, northern Western Australia)
• White-lined honeyeater, Meliphaga albilineata – north-central Australia (Arnhem Land sandstone, northern Northern Territory)
• Orange-cheeked honeyeater, Meliphaga chrysogenys – west-central New Guinea (timberline zone of Snow Mountains)
• Forest honeyeater, Meliphaga montana – north to southeast New Guinea
• Mottle-breasted honeyeater, Meliphaga mimikae – montane west-central to southeastern New Guinea
• Yellow-gaped honeyeater, Meliphaga flavirictus – northeast Western Australia to northeast Queensland (north Australia)
• Mountain honeyeater, Meliphaga orientalis – montane New Guinea
• Scrub honeyeater, Meliphaga albonotata – foothills of southern New Guinea
• Mimic honeyeater, Meliphaga analoga – New Guinea including western Papuan islands and Aru Islands
• Tagula honeyeater, Meliphaga vicina – lowlands and hills of Tagula Island (Louisiade Archipelago, off southeastern New Guinea)
• Graceful honeyeater, Meliphaga gracilis – southern New Guinea including Aru Islands, and northeastern Australia (western Torres Strait islands and eastern Cape York Peninsula, northern Queensland)
• Cryptic honeyeater, Meliphaga imitatrix – northeastern Australia (southeastern Cape York Peninsula to Wet Tropics region, northern Queensland)
• Elegant honeyeater, Meliphaga cinereifrons – southeastern New Guinea

References

Wikidata ☰ Q954652 entry