Lichenostomus
Genus of birds
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lichenostomus is a genus of honeyeaters endemic to Australia.
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| Lichenostomus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Yellow-tufted honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Passeriformes |
| Family: | Meliphagidae |
| Genus: | Lichenostomus Cabanis, 1851 |
| Type species | |
| Lichenostomus occidentalis[1] Cabanis, 1851 | |
The genus formerly contained twenty species but it was split after a molecular phylogenetic analysis published in 2011 showed that the genus was polyphyletic.[2] Former members were moved to the six new genera: Nesoptilotis, Bolemoreus, Caligavis, Stomiopera, Gavicalis and Ptilotula.[2]
The genus contains two species:[3]
| Image | Scientific name | Common name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
_-_Flickr_-_Lip_Kee_(1).jpg) | Lichenostomus melanops | Yellow-tufted honeyeater | east and southeast Australia |
 | Lichenostomus cratitius | Purple-gaped honeyeater | southwest and south-central Australia |
The name Lichenostomus was introduced by the German ornithologist Jean Cabanis in 1851.[4] The word is derived from the Greek leikhēn meaning lichen or callous and stoma meaning mouth.[5]
Feeding
Both species feed primarily on nectar but also glean insects from foliage and bark and make aerial sallies for invertebrates. The purple-gaped honeyeater can forage in small groups of up to 30 birds.[6]
