Brown Honeyeater

Brown Honeyeater pew pew pew Probable

Putative nocturnal call type

A short, high-pitched, tonal call delivered in bursts of 2–4 elements (typically three), giving an insistent "pew pew pew" quality. Each note is brief and narrow-band, with a sharp onset and slight downward tail, producing a characteristic inverted ] shape on the spectrogram. Two peaks of energy (around 5 kHz and 2,5 kHz), with notes evenly spaced and clearly separated.

Behavioural context

This call is given in flight and is most frequently recorded at night. It commonly occurs during the migration season, suggesting an association with nocturnal movement, although the full seasonal pattern has not yet been established. Until year-round data are available, it remains unclear whether this call is restricted to migratory periods or is used more broadly during nocturnal movements or local dispersal.

Evidence for identification

This call is tentatively attributed to Brown Honeyeater (Lichmera indistincta) based on a recent recording in which a typical Brown Honeyeater song phrase is heard immediately followed by two bursts of this “pew pew pew” call. The close temporal association strongly suggests the same individual produced both vocalisations, providing the first direct evidence linking this call type to the species.

At present, no published or online reference recordings of Brown Honeyeater match this vocalisation, indicating it may represent an undescribed or under-documented call type. The consistent nocturnal occurrence of this call, combined with the lack of clear diurnal analogues, raises the possibility that it is a specialised nocturnal flight call (NFC) or movement-related vocalisation.

However, this identification remains provisional. The call has not been reported in extensive nocturnal recording work in Western Australia (N. Jackett pers. comm.), despite Brown Honeyeaters being common in that region. This may suggest geographic variation in vocal behaviour, or that the call is associated with populations undertaking local or seasonal movements not expressed in non-migratory populations.

Confidence statement

Further confirmation will require additional recordings showing repeated co-occurrence with Brown Honeyeater vocalisations, or ideally direct observational linkage. At present, the evidence is best considered probable but not confirmed, with moderate confidence based on the strength of the temporal association in the focal recording.

Similar species / confusion risks

Alternative species have been considered. Nigel Jackett suggested flycatcher sp. or Spangled Drongo as possibilities, while other informal suggestions have included Noisy Miner, Brown Quail, Magpie-lark, and Blue-faced Honeyeater. None of these taxa currently provide a convincing match in structure, delivery pattern, or known nocturnal calling behaviour.

Project detections: 173 annotations; 28 nights; recorded in January, March, April, October; most recent detection 24 Apr 2026.

Project clips