Meliphaga

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

The genus was introduced by the English artist John Lewin in 1808.^[2] The name Meliphaga combines the Ancient Greek meli meaning "honey" and phagos meaning eating.^[3] The type species is Lewin's honeyeater (Meliphaga lewinii).^[4][5]

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.^[6][7] In 2025 the AviList team instead adopted a broader Meliphaga that contained 17 species and included the orange-cheeked honeyeater.^[8]

The genus contains 17 species:^[8]

• 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