Kimberley honeyeater

Kimberley Honeyeater
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Meliphagidae
Genus: Meliphaga
Species:
M. fordiana
Binomial name
Meliphaga fordiana
Schodde, 1989
Synonyms
  • Meliphaga albilineata fordiana Schodde, 1989
  • Microptilotis fordianus (Schodde, 1989)
  • Territornis fordiana

The Kimberley honeyeater (Meliphaga fordiana) is a bird in the honeyeater family, Meliphagidae. It was formerly lumped with the white-lined honeyeater but, based on a genetic analysis, it is now considered a separate species. Articles published in 2014 and 2015 provided evidence that the Kimberley and white-lined honeyeaters differ not only genetically, but also in song and foraging ecology. The specific epithet honours the Australian chemist and ornithologist Dr Julian Ralph Ford (1932-1987).