While it can be a little elusive as it flits around the blossom and dense foliage of trees on the edges of rainforest and gardens, once spied it is not easily forgotten, especially the males with their brilliant combo of red, white and black.
The adult male Scarlet Honeyeater is a vivid scarlet red and black bird with whitish underparts. The females and immature birds are dull brown with dull white underparts and a reddish wash on the chin. In both sexes the tail is relatively short, the bill strongly curved and the eye is dark. This species is a small honeyeater, usually seen alone or in pairs, but occasionally in flocks, high in trees.
Males have a silvery tinkling song, which is sung from a prominent perch. Also, ‘chiew chiew’ contact calls made by both sexes. Call recording by: Fred Van Gessel
The Scarlet Honeyeater is found along the east coast of Australia, from Cooktown, Queensland to Gippsland, Victoria, but it is less common south of Sydney, being a summer migrant in the south. It is also found in Sulawesi, the Moluccas and Lesser Sundas, Indonesia and in New Caledonia.
Resident in the north of its range, seasonally migratory in south, with movements associated with flowering of food plants. It is considered nomadic around Sydney, following autumn- and winter-flowering plants.
Habitat: Woodland, Forest, Wetland, Urban
The Scarlet Honeyeater occurs in a wide range of forest habitats, but is most common in open eucalypt forests and woodlands, especially those that grow near wetlands. They are frequently seen in flowering shrubs, and can be spotted in urban areas where people have planted bottlebrushes and other nectar-rich species.
Populations of Scarlet Honeyeaters have occasionally exploded suddenly, with larger numbers than usual being reported in a particular area.
The Scarlet Honeyeater feeds mainly on nectar and sometimes on fruit and insects. It tends to feed in the upper levels of the canopy, foraging in flowers and foliage, usually singly, in pairs or small flocks. Often evicted by larger, more aggressive honeyeaters such as friarbirds.
The Scarlet Honeyeater breeds in pairs, with the more conspicuous male calling and displaying to the quieter females. The small cup nest is suspended from a horizontal branch or in a fork, and is made from fine bark and grass bound with spider web and lined with fine plant materials. The female incubates the eggs alone, but both sexes feed the young. Up to three broods may be produced per season.
