The striped honeyeater (Plectorhyncha lanceolata) is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae, found in Australia. It is a medium-sized honeyeater, about 23 cm (9.1 in) 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 forest, it is also found in coastal swamp forest from southeast 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.
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.[2] Molecular studies indicate that this genus is closely allied to the monotypic genus Grantiella, though dissimilar in appearance.[3] The painted honeyeater (Grantiella picta) and the striped honeyeater are part of a subclade that includes also Philemon and Xanthotis.[3]
The generic name Plectorhyncha is derived from the Ancient Greek plēktron 'spear-point' and rhynkhos 'bill' and refers to the fine-pointed bill.[4] 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.[2]
Honeyeaters are related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae (Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and the Maluridae (Australian fairy-wrens) in the large superfamily Meliphagoidea.[5]
The striped honeyeater is a medium-sized honeyeater with a body length of 22–25 cm (8.7–9.8 in), a wingspan of 28–36 cm (11–14 in), and an average weight of 40 g (1.4 oz).