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The rest of the male’s breast and underparts are predominantly white; its wings and tail are black.
Not listed
Endemic to Australia
At a glance
FamilyHoneyeaters
SizeTiny
RarityCommon
HabitatFlowering woodland, heath, gardens, and any canopy with nectar or insect activity.
Best timeMost reliable in Queensland from June to August.
Sounds
Sound sampleRecorded by Peter Boesman
Range map
Range map
2974visible hotspots
173281visible records
2states
SparseModerateDense hotspot
Aggregated occurance data is sourced from 14 different actively-updating datasets including eBird Australia, iNaturalist Australia, BirdLife Australia, and multiple state-based bird surveys through Atlas of Living Australia.
Species notes
Overview
Tiny honeyeater. Adult males have brilliant red coloration on the face and back; it also extends down onto the breast. Adult females are uniformly pale brown-gray with faint red on the face. Young birds are similar to adult females but have varying amounts of red. Take care not to confuse the plain female/young birds with other plain honeyeaters such as Brown Honeyeater and Dusky Honeyeater.
Behavior
Found in wetter parts of coastal eastern Australia; this includes forests at higher elevations and mangroves. Has a distinctive high-pitched song that is helpful to learn for identifying this species as it often feeds high in the canopy.
Gallery