Honeyeaters (Meliphagidae)

White-plumed Honeyeater (Lichenostomus penicillatus) - HBW 13, p. 608

French: Méliphage serti German: Weißbürzel-Honigfresser Spanish: Mielero Empenachado
Other common names: Carter’s/Cloncurry/Pallid Honeyeater

Taxonomy: Meliphaga penicillata Gould, 1837, interior of New South Wales = Wagga Wagga area, Australia.
Forms a species group with L. ornatus, L. plumulus, L. fuscus and L. flavescens. Races intergrade where they meet. Described races centralius (from C Australia) and interioris (Ward R, S of Charleville, in SW Queensland) represent intergrading populations; other proposed races are geraldtonensis (from Geraldton, in Western Australia) and ladasi (East Murchison, in Western Australia), both merged with carteri, and mellori (Templestowe, in Victoria), synonymized with nominate. Four subspecies recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

calconi (Mathews, 1912) - extreme SW & S Kimberley (S Fitzroy River Drainage Basin) and adjacent Great Sandy Desert, in N Western Australia.
carteri (A. J. Campbell, 1899) - Pilbara and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia (from upper De Grey-Fortescue rivers S to Geraldton and N Wheatbelt) E to E Gibson Desert and in Great Victoria Desert to NW South Australia.
leilavalensis (North, 1899) - NC Northern Territory (from c. 18° S) and NC Queensland S to South Australia (S to Gawler Ranges and N Flinders Ranges) and NW New South Wales (Barrier Range), but largely absent from Simpson Desert.
penicillatus (Gould, 1837) - Greater Murray-Darling Basin, from CE Queensland (W of Great Divide) S to gulfs of South Australia, extending E to Great Divide and locally to coastal and subcoastal S & SE Australia.