Pied Honeyeater

There is little known about the social organization and behaviour of this species, in part due to its erratic movements, and also because individuals are widely characterized as very nervous, always on the move, very shy, "quick on the wing" and very timid [Burgess, 1946]. Birds are often seen singly or in pairs. However, early Australian records note movements of pied honeyeaters in constant flocks, "flying against the wind...in flocks at times of fifty or more"and in larger flocks of several hundred. Seasonal flocks have been observed flying in the company of black honeyeaters (Sugomel nigrum), crimson chats (Epthianura tricolor), black-faced woodswallows (Artamus cinereus) and masked woodswallows (A. personatus). The pied honeyeater has been observed feeding in the company of black honeyeaters (S. nigrum), "greenies" ( Ptilotis penicillata) and yellow-throated miners (Manorina flavigula). During breeding displays, pairs sometimes fly into the air together and "literally loop and loop" [Burgess, 1946, p. 392] and a male may soar "singing, into the air from the top of a tree, and suddenly [drop], always turning over backward in its descent". Males advertising territorial display will, similarly, fly singing vertically into the air. Actions in the air appear similar to the black honeyeater [Burgess, 1946] and flight is said to resemble that of the critically endangered regent honeyeater (Anthochaera phrygia). There is little information on feeding behaviour, although Shelly et al. note that the pied honeyeater is rarely observed feeding in mixed flocks. Information on agonistic behavior is also limited. However, territorial calling and aerial displays have been noted, while feigning of lameness or a broken wing, if disturbed off a nest containing young, has also been recorded.

In the early 1900s, this species was "widely distributed, principally over the southern half of the continent". Data mapping by [Gannon, 1962] shows occurrences primarily across central and western NSW, the arid interior, and the eastern parts of South Australia. Birdlife Australia Atlas project data between 1998 and 2014 indicates that the pied honeyeater is found principally in a band below approximately 18 ° S, which extends roughly from central Queensland, central NSW and central Victoria in the east and across to the Western Australian coastline [Birdlife Australia, 2014].

The pied honeyeater is listed as least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) due to its extremely large range and apparent stability of population size; however, population size has not been quantified. It has been seen to be subject to threatening processes that generally act at the landscape scale (e.g. habitat loss or degradation) rather than at distinct, definable locations. The former Office of Environment & Heritage was developing a targeted approach for managing such landscape species, but the functions of that office now fall under the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment. It is unclear whether any studies are ongoing. Identified management actions in the plan included encouragement of the protection of rich nectar-producing patches of woodland and shrubs from stock and goats, development of educational and promotional information to generate conservation interest and status assessments. Targeted management strategies were also being implemented via the NSW Murray Biodiversity Management Plan. The mobility of nomadic birds makes it difficult to gain a qualitative impression of population changes, and while migrants and nomads may give the illusion of abundance as large flocks aggregate at rich patches of food, they are not spread evenly across the landscape and their total numbers are often fewer than appears.