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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Meliphagidae
  4. ›
  5. Plectorhyncha
  6. ›
  7. Striped Honeyeater
Striped Honeyeater
Photo · John Robert McPherson

BirdUp · Species

Striped Honeyeater

Plectorhyncha lanceolataGould, 1838

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Endemic
Order
PASSERIFORMES
Family
Meliphagidae
Genus
Plectorhyncha

At a glance

The Striped Honeyeater is a medium-sized bird, about 22–24 cm long, endemic to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
22–24 cm
Origin
Endemic
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Endemic
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does a Striped Honeyeater look like?

The Striped Honeyeater is a medium-sized bird, about 22–24 cm long and weighing 33–48 g.

The striped honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, found in Australia. It is a medium-sized honeyeater, about 23 cm (9.1 in) in length. Both sexes are a light greyish brown with dark brown centres to the feathers, which give the appearance of stripes. The stripes are particularly distinct on the head and back of the neck. While it is found mainly in inland eastern Australia where it inhabits the drier open forest, it is also found in coastal swamp forest from southeast Queensland to the central coast of New South Wales.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
22–24 cm
Weight
33–48 g
Wingspan
28 cm

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Striped Honeyeater?

The Striped Honeyeater is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does a Striped Honeyeater eat?

The Striped Honeyeater feeds on fruit, nectar/pollen, seeds and terrestrial invertebrates, usually foraging in pairs or alone.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

6 photos

The BirdUp app

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Striped Honeyeater live in Australia?

The Striped Honeyeater is endemic to Australia, recorded across 32 of Australia’s bioregions.

BreedingNorth-central QLD to south-east SA and south-central NSW (east and south-east Australia)

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Resident
  • Vagrant

7 regions recorded