A nectar feeder, the black honeyeater has a long curved bill to reach the base of tubular flowers such as those of the emu bush.

While the population appears to be decreasing, the black honeyeater is sufficiently numerous and widespread and hence is considered to be of least concern on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)'s Red List of Endangered species.

The black honeyeater was first described by English naturalist John Gould in 1838 as Myzomela nigra,[2] using as the specific epithet the Latin adjective niger 'black'.

[10] Australian ornithologists Richard Schodde and Ian J. Mason kept the three in the same genus, but conceded the basis for this was weak and classified each species in its own subgenus—Sugomel for the black honeyeater.

[11] In a 2004 genetic study of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of honeyeaters, the three species classified in the genus Certhionyx were found not to be closely related to one another.

However, it was an early offshoot and quite divergent genetically, leading study authors Amy Driskell and Les Christidis to recommend it be placed in its own genus rather than returned to Myzomela.

[2] DNA analysis has shown the honeyeater family Meliphagidae to be related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae (Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.

The female's crown, ear coverts and upper parts are buff brown, scalloped paler, with a pale eyebrow, and the chest is speckled grey-brown grading into a dull white belly.

It has been noted that the black honeyeater is able to locate emu bushes, even when clumps consist of only two or three and are separated by many kilometres of country, which suggests the importance of this plant–bird association.

[29] The black honeyeater is considered to be migratory rather than strictly nomadic, with regular seasonal movements related to flowering of food plants, especially the emu bush.

[27] Breeding has generally been recorded in the drainage basins of Cooper Creek and the Darling River in southwestern Queensland and northwestern New South Wales, as well as in the Pilbara and Gascoyne regions in Western Australia.

There is apparently some variation based upon location, with birds in Western Australia nesting earlier, whilst those in Queensland breed as late as March.

[31] Black honeyeater populations concentrate for breeding wherever the right plants are in flower and there is an abundance of insects, both essential for feeding the young.

[32] At the beginning of the mating season, males can be seen soaring in "song flights", which consist of a series of zigzagging movements, high into the air, accompanied by constant calling.

[25] It may sometimes form large mixed flocks at food sources, associating with other birds such as pied honeyeaters and white-browed woodswallows (Artamus superciliosus).

[30] A study of black honeyeaters at seven sites in Western Australia regularly recorded breeding females eating ash from campsite fires and often making repeated visits over a brief period of time.

[22] It was noted that the birds seemed attracted to the remote campfire with groups of around six hovering around and landing beside the fire, an activity described as similar to "bees buzzing around a honeypot".

[22] Well-developed brood patches on the birds mist netted near the fires, suggest that the females take ash around the time of laying, and throughout the incubation and feeding period.

They added that although nomadic species such as the black honeyeater may have a large distribution, they are often habitat specialists and hence may occupy only a small area within their range.

[35] The black honeyeater may be adversely affected by the loss of the emu bush due to grazing and weed control by farmers.