Dusky Myzomela

1. Uniform sooty-brown plumage with paler underparts

2. Long, slender, decurved black bill

3. High-pitched, descending song: “tip-tip-eeee-chip”

Dusky Honeyeaters feed primarily on nectar from a wide variety of native plants, but also take insects and spiders, often hovering or hanging upside down to reach food. They breed mainly in the dry season (March to September), constructing small, neat cup-shaped nests from fine bark, spiderwebs, and leaves, usually well hidden high above water. Clutch size is typically two eggs, white with fine reddish spots. Both parents care for the young after hatching. The species is generally seen singly or in pairs but may gather in small groups at abundant food sources and sometimes joins mixed-species flocks.

Dusky Honeyeaters inhabit a wide range of habitats across northern and eastern Australia, from the Kimberley and Top End to the east coast as far south as the New South Wales border (though rare south of Rockhampton). They are found in monsoon forests, rainforests, riparian corridors, mangroves, and woodland edges, especially near water. The species is generally sedentary in optimal habitats but can be nomadic or migratory in less favourable areas. They are most active and visible at dawn and dusk, foraging in the upper and middle canopy of flowering trees, particularly paperbarks, eucalypts, and figs.