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The striped honeyeater (''Plectorhyncha lanceolata'') is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, found in Australia. It is a medium sized honeyeater, about 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 forests, it is also found in coastal swamp forests from south east Queensland to the central coast of New South Wales. Although a honeyeater, the striped honeyeater relies on insects as its major food source, and its bill has been adapted to an insect diet. When not breeding it has been recorded feeding and travelling in small groups, but it nests singly, laying around three eggs in a deep cup-shaped nest suspended from the end of drooping branches. It is widely distributed and common within its range, thus the population is listed as being of least concern for conservation by the IUCN. ==Taxonomy== The striped honeyeater was first described by English ornithologist and bird artist, John Gould, in ''A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia and the Adjacent Islands'', published in 1838. It is a member of the family Meliphagidae, the honeyeaters, and the sole member of the monotypic genus ''Plectorhyncha''.〔 Molecular studies indicate that genus is closely allied to the monotypic genus ''Grantiella'', though dissimilar in appearance.〔 The painted honeyeater (''Grantiella picta'') and the striped honeyeater are part of a subclade that includes also ''Philemon'' and ''Xanthotis''. The genus name ''Plectorhyncha'' is derived from a combination of the Greek words for "a spear point" and "the bill" and refers to the fine pointed bill. The species name ''lanceolata'' comes from the Latin for "lance-shaped" in reference to the long pointed feathers on the throat and breast. The bird is also referred to as the lanceolated honeyeater. Honeyeaters are related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae (Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and the Maluridae (Australian fairy-wrens) in a large Meliphagoidea superfamily. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Striped honeyeater」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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