Gray-headed Honeyeater

1. Pale grey crown with a black facial mask and bright yellow neck plume

2. Yellow underparts with fine brown streaking

3. Bill and gape turn yellow outside breeding season, becoming fully black in breeding birds

These honeyeaters primarily feed on insects, gleaning them from foliage, bark, and flowers, but also take nectar from flowering eucalypts, grevilleas, hakeas, and occasionally fruit. They are active, vocal, and often inquisitive, sometimes gathering in small groups around rich food sources. Breeding usually occurs in winter and spring, but can happen at any time following rainfall. Nests are small, cup-shaped, and suspended low in trees or shrubs, typically containing two eggs. Both sexes may perform distraction displays if the nest is threatened.

Gray-headed Honeyeaters are widespread across central arid and semi-arid Australia, from the Kimberley and Pilbara through the Northern Territory to western Queensland and northern South Australia. They are most often found in eucalypt woodlands, stony hill country, timbered gullies, mulga and mallee woodlands, and along rocky riverbeds. The species is generally sedentary but may move locally in response to flowering events, sometimes appearing in unexpected locations after heavy rains or mass flowering.