 The brown honeyeater is a medium-small, plain grey-brown honeyeater with a body length of 12 – 16 centimetres (4.7 – 6.3 in), a wingspan of 18 – 23 centimetres (7.1 – 9.1 in), and an average weight of 9 – 11 grams (0.32 – 0.39 oz). The female is slightly smaller than the male, but the sexes differ only slightly in appearance. The head, back, rump, and upper tail-coverts are brown, and the wings a darker brown. The only distinguishing features are a small yellow patch behind the eye, which is indistinct in some birds, and dull yellow-olive panels in the folded wings and tail. The brown honeyeater ’ s sexual dimorphism is slight. The adult male has a dark brownish-grey forehead and crown, contrasting with a brownish nape. The forehead and crown of the adult female is a similar olive-brown to the rest of the upper body. A juvenile bird is similar to the female, but may lack or show only a trace of the yellow tuft behind the eye. The bill is black, and is long, slender and curved slightly downwards, well adapted for probing deep tubular flowers. The gape in the male is black when breeding, and pale yellow at other times. The gape of the female is always pale yellow, and in the juvenile bright yellow and swollen. The iris is brown, and the feet and legs grey-black.
