The red-headed myzomela or red-headed honeyeater is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It was described by John Gould in 1840. Two subspecies are recognised, with the nominate race M. e. erythrocephala distributed around the tropical coastline of Australia, and M. e. infuscata in New Guinea. Though widely distributed, the species is not abundant within this range. While the IUCN lists the Australian population of M. e. infuscata as being near threatened, as a whole the widespread range means that its conservation is of least concern.
Region
Northern Australia and New Guinea
Typical Environment
Occurs patchily along tropical coasts and adjacent lowlands, especially in mangrove forests and coastal monsoon woodlands. Also uses paperbark (Melaleuca) swamps, flowering eucalypt edges, and coastal scrub. It can be locally common on offshore islands and occasionally visits gardens with nectar-rich plantings. Distribution extends from northern Australia to southern New Guinea and parts of eastern Indonesia.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 800 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A small honeyeater with a brush-tipped tongue specialized for sipping nectar, it also takes tiny insects for protein. Males are strikingly red-headed while females are duller and brownish, making the species strongly sexually dimorphic. It often follows flowering events of mangroves and eucalypts and is an important pollinator in coastal ecosystems.
Female perched on a paperbark branch
A juvenile
A male on lookout
Temperament
active and agile
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats with quick dashes between flowering trees
Social Behavior
Often seen singly, in pairs, or small loose groups around blooming trees, becoming territorial at rich nectar sources. Pairs build a small, neat cup nest suspended in a fork of fine branches. Breeding is timed to peaks in flowering, and both adults feed the young.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
High, thin tseep notes interspersed with rapid twittering phrases. Calls escalate into excited trills during feeding disputes around blossoms.
