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Blue-faced Honeyeater

(Entomyzon cyanotis)
Alternative names: "Banana-bird", "Blue-eye"
Size: 25-31 cm

Habitat
(for details refer to a field guide)

There are three races of Blue-faced Honeyeaters. Nominate race "cyanotis" lives in the south-eastern corner of SA, some of the hill ranges of VIC, the Murray River catchment and all through eastern NSW, except the coastal fringe south of the Hunter River. Inland their range extends out to about the confluence of the Paroo with the Darling River. The range continues into the eastern part of QLD, up to the base of the Cape York peninsula. On that peninsula race "griseigularis" is found. Anywhere to the east of the Gulf of Carpentaria, i.e. the top end of the NT and the Kimberleys in WA, one finds race "albipennis".

Blue-faced Honeyeaters are usually found in open forest and woodland, often near water courese. They adapt well to the presence of humans and will enter urban parks and gardens. While picking off insects and possibly spiders they can often be seen in nooks and crannies on the outside of buildings.

Sightings

Blue-faced Honeyeaters were regular customers at the bottlebrush trees in our garden 20 km south of Narrabri, NSW, in the years 2003-2006. They came in groups of 2 or more and make themselves heard upon arrival (and during their stay). In urban environments they can be quite curious and easy to approach.

20 km east of Narrabri they are also observed regularly, usually in small groups or pairs.

Also sighted on a trip to the east of the dividing range, in the area from Armidale to Dorrigo, NSW.

They are also a dominant species throughout the eastern half of Queensland, where we have seen them in July 2009. Most notably, they were present in large numbers at Carnarvon Gorge, which is on the western edge of their habitat.

Photos

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Nominate race "cyanotis"

Close-up frontal view of an adult Blue-faced Honeyeater, race "cyanotis"

Near-frontal view of an adult Blue-faced Honeyeater

Lateral view of a Blue-faced Honeyeater displaying the full splendour of its blue face in brilliant sunlight

Dorsal view of a Blue-faced Honeyeater searching for insects in tree bark

Here a bird hunting for insects in a eucalypt tree

Some Blue-faced Honeyeater acrobatics

Frontal view of an immature Blue-faced Honeyeater

Lateral view of an immature Blue-faced Honeyeater

Here an immature Blue-faced Honeyeater preening itself

Clutch of immature Blue-faced Honeyeaters; photo courtesy of C. Kellenberg

Breeding information

Breeding season: Jul - Jan Eggs: 2 - 3 Incubation period: 17 days Fledging age: 20 days

Nest

Type: Basket Material: Twigs, grass, fibre Height above ground: 3 - 20 m

Relatively unobstructed view of a Blue-faced Honeyeater pair's nest; note high, similar to other honeyaters in hanging baskets, the bird's tail sticks out almost vertically

In this perspective the nest is almost invisible, but one can catch a glimpse of its occupant

Eggs

Size: 32 x 21 mm Colour: Creamy, with brown speckles Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal? Mobility: Dispersive Elementary unit: Pair/family clan

One can set the clock by the regular habits of Blue-faced Honeyeaters around our place. They appear almost all year round, around sunrise and sunset. Only when there are lots of flowers on our trees they will also come at other times of the day. They visit as pairs or families, rarely alone.

Blue-faced Honeyeaters are omnivores - they use their long tongues not only for retrieving honey or nectar from blossoms, but also to catch small insects, for example from cracks and cavities in walls of buildings or the bark of trees.

Blue-faced Honeyeater searching the bark of an ironbark eucalypt for insects

Food

Like many other honeyeaters, Blue-faced Honeyeaters do not exclusively feed on nectar, but use their sticky tongue to take insects too. They are the species that most conspicuously uses its long, rough tongue to pry insects out of crevices.

Adult bird teaching one of its offspring how to pry behind loose eucalypt bark in search of insects; by sitting on the ends of such slabs the birds brought down some which were then inspected on the ground before the crevice left behind on the trunk was also searched for food