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Yellow-faced Honeyeater

(Lichenostomus chrysops)
Alternative name: "Chickup"
Size: 16-18 cm

Habitat
(for details refer to a field guide)

Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are found only along the south and east coast and the Great Dividing Range of Australia. Nominate race "chrysops" are partial migrants that spend winter in the south, from about the VIC/SA border to southern NSW. During the summer they migrate up north, up to about the Rockhampton area, QLD, in some years also further to about the Milaroo River and further inland, out to a line connecting Carnarvon National Park and the Pilliga scrub, in northern NSW. Race "barroni", which is sedentary, has a very restricted range and is found only in the tablelands from about Townsville, QLD, to Lakefield National Park. Race "samueli" populates only the area of Adelaide, SA, and the region up to just east of Port Augusta, SA.

Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are usually found in open forest and woodland. Often they stay high up in the tree crowns, but if low bushes are in flower, they will also visit flowers near the ground.

Sightings

Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are summer visitors where we lived, 20 km south of Narrabri, NSW. They are shier than other Honeyeaters and therefore harder to spot. After several sightings in 2004, we did not see any in 2005, but then again in August and September 2006.

Spotted in Mount Kaputar National Park, 30-40 km east of Narrabri, where they are common, in September 2007 and again in April 2008. Also seen in Deriah Forest, 30 km east of Narrabri, in May 2008 and at several locations along Bullawa Creek in October 2008.

Again spotted by us in December 2008, 20 km west of Barraba, NSW.

Photos

Frontal view of a Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Lateral view of a Yellow-faced Honeyeater

View from behind of a Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Yellow-faced Honeyeater feeding on a bottlebrush flower

Yellow-faced Honeyeater sitting in a bottlebrush tree

View from beneath of a Yellow-faced Honeyeater, demonstrating how hard it is to tell one type of honeyeater from another when one can see only the front

Here a bird approaching a water hole

This one is using a different technique...

Yellow-faced Honeyeater after a first dip in a waterhole

Yellow-faced Honeyeater just after takeoff

Breeding information

Breeding season: Jul - Jan Eggs: 2 - 3 Incubation period: 14 - 15 days Fledging age: 16 - 17 days

Nest

Type: Hanging basket Material: Bark fibre, grass Height above ground: 2 - 6 m

Yellow-faced Honeyeater nest in a low branch of a pinetree

Eggs

Size: 21 x 14 mm Colour: Creamy, with brown to dark-brown speckles Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Yellow-faced Honeyeaters are one of the bird species that dive into shallow water from a perch and then fly back onto their perch to preen and dry their plumage.

Food

Like many other honeyeaters, Yellow-faced Honeyeaters do not exclusively feed on nectar, but take insects too.