Red-headed Honeyeater
Encyclopedia
The Red-headed Honeyeater (Myzomela erythrocephala) is a passerine
bird of the honeyeater
family, Meliphagidae, found in Australia
, Indonesia
, and Papua New Guinea
. Three subspecies
are recognised, with the nominate race M. erythrocephala erythrocephala distributed around the tropical coastline of Australia.
At 12 centimetres (4.7 in), it is a small honeyeater with a short tail and relatively long down-curved bill. It is sexually dimorphic
and the male has a glossy red head and brown upperparts and paler grey-brown underparts while the female has predominantly grey-brown plumage. Its natural habitat
is subtropical or tropical mangrove
forests. It is very active when feeding in the tree canopy, darting from flower to flower and sallying
for insects. It calls constantly as it feeds. While little has been documented on the Red-headed Honeyeater’s breeding behaviour, it is recorded as building a small cup-shaped nest in the mangrove
s and laying two or three oval, white eggs with small red blotches.
The Red-headed Honeyeater is widely distributed across the northern coastlines of Australia, though it is not abundant within this range. While one sub-species is listed as Near Threatened
, as a whole the widespread range means that its conservation is of Least Concern
.
in 1840, from specimens located in King Sound
, north Western Australia. As well as the nominate race M. erythrocephala erythrocephala, two additional subspecies are recognised: M. erythrocephala infuscata named by William Alexander Forbes
in 1879, and M. erythrocephala dammermani described by Friederich Wilhelm Sieber in 1928. Some taxonomic authorities recognize M. erythrocephala dammermani as a separate species, the Sumba Myzomela
(Myzomela dammermani).
It is a member of the genus Myzomela
which includes two other Australian species, the Scarlet Honeyeater
of eastern Australia, and the Dusky Honeyeater
of northern Australia. It belongs to the honeyeater
family Meliphagidae
. A 2004 genetic
study of nuclear
and mitochondrial
DNA
of honeyeaters found it to be the next closest relative to a smaller group consisting of the Scarlet and Cardinal Honeyeater
s, although only five of the thirty members of the genus Myzomela
were analysed. Molecular
analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae
(Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and the Maluridae
(Australian fairy-wrens) in a large Meliphagoidea
superfamily. Because the Red-headed Honeyeater occurs on many offshore islands and appears to be an effective water-crosser, it has been hypothesis
ed that north-western Australia was the primary centre of origin for the Myzomela erythrocephala subspecies.
The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek
words myzo 'to suckle' and meli 'honey', and refers to the bird's nectivorous
habits, while erythrocephala is from the Greek erythros ‘red’ and a combining form of the Greek kephale ‘head’. Other common names are Mangrove Red-headed Honeyeater, Red-headed Myzomela, Mangrove Redhead, and Blood Bird.
, with males being slightly larger and much more brightly coloured than the females.
The adult male has a dark red head, neck, lower back and rump; the red is glossy, reflecting bright light. The rest of the upper body is a blackish-brown, and the upper breast and under-body a light brownish-grey. The bill is black or blackish-brown, and there is a distinct black loral
stripe that extends to become a narrow eye ring. The adult female's head and neck are grey-brown with a pink-red tint to the forehead and chin. The rest of the female's upper body is grey-brown with darker shades on the wings and lighter shades on the breast and under-body. One study suggested a connection between the female's bill colour and breeding status, with birds that had a horn-coloured bill also having well-developed brood patch
es. Juveniles are similar to females though with an obvious pale yellow edge to the lower mandible
. It seems that males keep their juvenile plumage for up to three months, and take a similar period to come into full colour. The subspecies are similar in appearance to the nominate race
however M. e. dammermani is slightly smaller than the other subspecies and has darker upper parts and a broad black pectoral band and M. e. infuscata has red extending from the rump onto the back.
The Red-headed Honeyeater has a range of contact calls
and songs that are primarily metallic or scratchy. Its song is an abrupt 'tchwip-tchwip-tchwip-tchwip' with a slightly softer 'swip-swip-swip-swip' contact call and a scolding 'charrk-charrk'.
The Red-headed Honeyeater in Australia is distributed across the tropical coastlines of Western Australia
, the Northern Territory
and Queensland
. It inhabits coastal areas of the Kimberley and various offshore islands in W.A., and is similarly distributed in the Northern Territory, including Melville Island and the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands
. It is widespread around the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria
and Cape York Peninsula
. M. e. dammermani is found on the island of Sumba
in the eastern Indonesian Lesser Sunda Islands
, and M. e. infuscata at scattered sites in West Papua and in south Papua New Guinea
.
Although the Red-headed Honeyeater is widely distributed, it is not abundant
within its range. The largest recorded population was 5.5 birds per hectare
or 2.2 per acre at Palmerston
in the Northern Territory. The peak abundance of the species in the mangroves around Darwin Harbour during the mid dry and early wet season coincided with the production of young and the flowering of Ceriops
australis.
The species' movements are poorly understood, with them variously described as resident, nomadic or migratory
. Population numbers have been reported as fluctuating in some areas with local movements possibly related to the flowering of preferred mangrove
and Melaleuca
food trees, and there is some indication that the birds can travel more widely. A single bird was recaptured after being banded
nearly five years earlier, 27 kilometres (16.8 mi) from the original banding site, and the species' occupation of a large number of offshore islands suggests that the Red-Headed Honeyeater is effective at crossing distances over water.
The Red-headed Honeyeater mostly inhabits mangroves in monsoon
al coastal areas, especially thickets of Rhizophora
, Bruguiera
and Avicennia
bordering islands or in river delta
s, but it often also occurs in paperbark
thickets fringing the mangroves such as those of the Cadjeput
(Melaleuca leucadendra). It is a mangrove specialist, an adaptation that probably occurred as northern Australia became more arid
and the bird populations became dependent on mangroves as other types of forest disappeared. The mangroves provide nectar and insects as well as shelter and nesting sites, and they supply the majority of the species' needs for most of the year.
In Australia, mangrove vegetation forms a narrow discontinuous strip along thousands of kilometres of coastline, accommodating birds specialized for the habitat
. Eighty Mile Beach in Western Australia has no mangroves and no fringing Melaleuca
forests, reducing its potential for successful colonization by nectarivore
s, and it marks the southern limit of the Red-headed Honeyeater in W.A.
for insects. It probes flowers for nectar with its long curved bill, catches insects on the wing and gleans
insects from leaves. It predominately feeds on mangrove species, and in northwestern Australia is the major pollinator of Bruguiera exaristata
, however it also feeds in paperbarks
and other coastal forests and has been recorded feeding in cultivated Bottlebrush and Grevillea
in Darwin
gardens.
s, and other mangrove-feeding birds such as the Northern Fantail
and Yellow White-Eye. It is an inquisitive bird, and readily responds to pish
ing coming close to the caller to investigate the source of the sound and to warn off the intruder. It calls throughout the day when feeding, and males sing from exposed branches in the upper canopy of the food trees.
The Red-headed Honeyeater actively defends food trees, engaging in aggressive bill-wiping both in response to a threat and after chasing intruders from a tree. It is very antagonistic even towards its own species; the males fight by grappling in mid-air and falling close to the ground before disengaging. It constantly chases Brown Honeyeaters through the canopy, though it has not been observed in grappling fights with other species.
and then disperse. The nest is built in the foliage of the mangroves, suspended by a rim from a small horizontal fork about 6–10 m (19.7–32.8 ft) above the ground or water. The nest is small and cup-shaped, and built from small pieces of bark, leaves, plant fibre and sometimes seaweed, bound together with spider web and lined with finer material. It is, on average, 5.4 centimetres (2.1 in) in diameter and 3.7 centimetres (1.5 in) deep.
Measuring 16 by, the eggs are oval, smooth and lustreless white, with small spots or blotches of red on the larger end. Clutch size is reported to be two to three eggs. While there is no reliable information on incubation and feeding, it is believed that both parents are active in caring for the young.
, because the population is widespread, however Myzomela erythrocephala infuscata is listed as Near Threatened
. The Australian population of this subspecies is confined to three small islands with a combined area of about 100 square kilometres (38.6 sq mi). There is no immediate threat to the Red-headed Honeyeater except the risk posed to low islands by rising sea levels, however it has been recommended that community-based ecotourism on the tropical coast be promoted, as it could lead to monitoring of sub-populations and habitat by visiting birdwatchers and local rangers.
Passerine
A passerine is a bird of the order Passeriformes, which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds, the passerines form one of the most diverse terrestrial vertebrate orders: with over 5,000 identified species, it has roughly...
bird of the honeyeater
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
family, Meliphagidae, found in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, and Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
. Three subspecies
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
are recognised, with the nominate race M. erythrocephala erythrocephala distributed around the tropical coastline of Australia.
At 12 centimetres (4.7 in), it is a small honeyeater with a short tail and relatively long down-curved bill. It is sexually dimorphic
Sexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
and the male has a glossy red head and brown upperparts and paler grey-brown underparts while the female has predominantly grey-brown plumage. Its natural habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
is subtropical or tropical mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
forests. It is very active when feeding in the tree canopy, darting from flower to flower and sallying
Hawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch...
for insects. It calls constantly as it feeds. While little has been documented on the Red-headed Honeyeater’s breeding behaviour, it is recorded as building a small cup-shaped nest in the mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
s and laying two or three oval, white eggs with small red blotches.
The Red-headed Honeyeater is widely distributed across the northern coastlines of Australia, though it is not abundant within this range. While one sub-species is listed as Near Threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
, as a whole the widespread range means that its conservation is of Least Concern
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
.
Taxonomy
Myzomela erythrocephala was first described by John GouldJohn Gould
John Gould was an English ornithologist and bird artist. The Gould League in Australia was named after him. His identification of the birds now nicknamed "Darwin's finches" played a role in the inception of Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection...
in 1840, from specimens located in King Sound
King Sound
King Sound is a large gulf in northern Western Australia. It expands from the mouth of the Fitzroy River, one of Australia's largest watercourses, and opens to the Indian Ocean. It is about 120 km long, and averages about 50 km in width. The port town of Derby lies near the mouth of the...
, north Western Australia. As well as the nominate race M. erythrocephala erythrocephala, two additional subspecies are recognised: M. erythrocephala infuscata named by William Alexander Forbes
William Alexander Forbes
William Alexander Forbes was an English zoologist.Forbes studied natural sciences at St John's College, Cambridge. In 1879 he was appointed prosector to the Zoological Society of London on the death of the previous incumbent, Alfred Henry Garrod, who was Forbes's friend and whose literary executor...
in 1879, and M. erythrocephala dammermani described by Friederich Wilhelm Sieber in 1928. Some taxonomic authorities recognize M. erythrocephala dammermani as a separate species, the Sumba Myzomela
Sumba Myzomela
The Sumba Myzomela is a species of bird in the Meliphagidae family. It is endemic to Indonesia.-Taxonomy:Some taxonomic authorities recognize M. erythrocephala dammermani as a separate species, the Sumba Myzomela .-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 26 July 2007....
(Myzomela dammermani).
It is a member of the genus Myzomela
Myzomela
Myzomela is a genus of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is the largest genus of honeyeaters, with 31 species, and the most geographically widespread...
which includes two other Australian species, the Scarlet Honeyeater
Scarlet Honeyeater
The Scarlet Honeyeater , also known as Crimson Honeyeater, Scarlet Myzomela, Sanguineous Honeyeater or, colloquially, Bloodbird, is a small passerine bird of the Honeyeater family Meliphagidae native to the east coast of Australia, Indonesia and New Caledonia...
of eastern Australia, and the Dusky Honeyeater
Dusky Honeyeater
The Dusky Honeyeater, Myzomela obscura is a small, brown bird that is a common resident of New Guinea, the Moluccas, the islands of Torres Strait, and northern Australia, where there are two separated populations, one in the Top End, another from Cape York Peninsula along the east coast as far...
of northern Australia. It belongs to the honeyeater
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
family Meliphagidae
Honeyeater
The honeyeaters are a large and diverse family of small to medium sized birds most common in Australia and New Guinea, but also found in New Zealand, the Pacific islands as far east as Samoa and Tonga, and the islands to the north and west of New Guinea known as Wallacea...
. A 2004 genetic
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
study of nuclear
Nuclear DNA
Nuclear DNA, nuclear deoxyribonucleic acid , is DNA contained within a nucleus of eukaryotic organisms. In mammals and vertebrates, nuclear DNA encodes more of the genome than the mitochondrial DNA and is composed of information inherited from two parents, one male, and one female, rather than...
and mitochondrial
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
of honeyeaters found it to be the next closest relative to a smaller group consisting of the Scarlet and Cardinal Honeyeater
Cardinal Myzomela
The Cardinal Myzomela is a species of bird in the Honeyeater family. It is named for the scarlet color of the male. It is found in American Samoa, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical mangrove...
s, although only five of the thirty members of the genus Myzomela
Myzomela
Myzomela is a genus of bird in the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. It is the largest genus of honeyeaters, with 31 species, and the most geographically widespread...
were analysed. Molecular
Molecule
A molecule is an electrically neutral group of at least two atoms held together by covalent chemical bonds. Molecules are distinguished from ions by their electrical charge...
analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae
Acanthizidae
The Acanthizidae, also known as the Australasian warblers, are a family of passerine birds which include gerygones, thornbills, and scrubwrens. The Acanthizidae consists of small to medium passerine birds, with a total length varying between 8 and 19 cm. They have short rounded wings, slender...
(Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and the Maluridae
Maluridae
The Maluridae are a family of small, insectivorous passerine birds endemic to Australia and New Guinea. Commonly known as wrens, they are unrelated to the true wrens of the Northern Hemisphere...
(Australian fairy-wrens) in a large Meliphagoidea
Meliphagoidea
Meliphagoidea is a superfamily of passerine birds. They contain a vast diversity of small to mid-sized songbirds widespread in the Austropacific region. The Australian Continent has the largest richness in genera and species.-Systematics:...
superfamily. Because the Red-headed Honeyeater occurs on many offshore islands and appears to be an effective water-crosser, it has been hypothesis
Hypothesis
A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. The term derives from the Greek, ὑποτιθέναι – hypotithenai meaning "to put under" or "to suppose". For a hypothesis to be put forward as a scientific hypothesis, the scientific method requires that one can test it...
ed that north-western Australia was the primary centre of origin for the Myzomela erythrocephala subspecies.
The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek
Ancient Greek is the stage of the Greek language in the periods spanning the times c. 9th–6th centuries BC, , c. 5th–4th centuries BC , and the c. 3rd century BC – 6th century AD of ancient Greece and the ancient world; being predated in the 2nd millennium BC by Mycenaean Greek...
words myzo 'to suckle' and meli 'honey', and refers to the bird's nectivorous
Nectarivore
In zoology, nectarivore is an animal which eats the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Most nectarivores are insects or birds, but there are also nectarivorous mammals, notably several species of bats in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, as well as the Australian Honey Possum...
habits, while erythrocephala is from the Greek erythros ‘red’ and a combining form of the Greek kephale ‘head’. Other common names are Mangrove Red-headed Honeyeater, Red-headed Myzomela, Mangrove Redhead, and Blood Bird.
Description
The Red-headed Honeyeater is a distinctive small honeyeater with a compact body, short tail and relatively long down-curved bill. It averages 12 centimetres (4.7 in), with a wingspan of 17–19 cm (6.7–7.5 in) and a weight of 8 gram (0.282191696840896 oz). The birds exhibit sexual dimorphismSexual dimorphism
Sexual dimorphism is a phenotypic difference between males and females of the same species. Examples of such differences include differences in morphology, ornamentation, and behavior.-Examples:-Ornamentation / coloration:...
, with males being slightly larger and much more brightly coloured than the females.
The adult male has a dark red head, neck, lower back and rump; the red is glossy, reflecting bright light. The rest of the upper body is a blackish-brown, and the upper breast and under-body a light brownish-grey. The bill is black or blackish-brown, and there is a distinct black loral
Lore (anatomy)
The Lore is the region between the eye and bill on the side of a bird's head. This region is sometimes featherless, and the skin may be tinted, as in many species of the cormorant family. This area, which is directly in front of the eye, features a "loral stripe" in many bird species including the...
stripe that extends to become a narrow eye ring. The adult female's head and neck are grey-brown with a pink-red tint to the forehead and chin. The rest of the female's upper body is grey-brown with darker shades on the wings and lighter shades on the breast and under-body. One study suggested a connection between the female's bill colour and breeding status, with birds that had a horn-coloured bill also having well-developed brood patch
Brood patch
thumb|250px|Brood patch of [[Sand Martin]]A brood patch is a patch of featherless skin that is visible on the underside of birds during the nesting season. This patch of skin is well supplied with blood vessels at the surface making it possible for the birds to transfer heat to their eggs when...
es. Juveniles are similar to females though with an obvious pale yellow edge to the lower mandible
Mandible
The mandible pronunciation or inferior maxillary bone forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place...
. It seems that males keep their juvenile plumage for up to three months, and take a similar period to come into full colour. The subspecies are similar in appearance to the nominate race
Subspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
however M. e. dammermani is slightly smaller than the other subspecies and has darker upper parts and a broad black pectoral band and M. e. infuscata has red extending from the rump onto the back.
The Red-headed Honeyeater has a range of contact calls
Contact calls
Seemingly haphazard sounds made by many social animals are known as contact calls. Contact calls are very different from many other types of calls , as contact calls are not a specific signal, designed to communicate some specific information...
and songs that are primarily metallic or scratchy. Its song is an abrupt 'tchwip-tchwip-tchwip-tchwip' with a slightly softer 'swip-swip-swip-swip' contact call and a scolding 'charrk-charrk'.
Distribution and habitat
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
and Queensland
Queensland
Queensland is a state of Australia, occupying the north-eastern section of the mainland continent. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Australia and New South Wales to the west, south-west and south respectively. To the east, Queensland is bordered by the Coral Sea and Pacific Ocean...
. It inhabits coastal areas of the Kimberley and various offshore islands in W.A., and is similarly distributed in the Northern Territory, including Melville Island and the Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands
Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands
The Sir Edward Pellew Group of Islands is situated in the south-west corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria, off the northern coast of Australia.-History:They were named in 1802 by Matthew Flinders in honour of Sir Edward Pellew, a fellow naval officer...
. It is widespread around the coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria
Gulf of Carpentaria
The Gulf of Carpentaria is a large, shallow sea enclosed on three sides by northern Australia and bounded on the north by the Arafura Sea...
and Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula is a large remote peninsula located in Far North Queensland at the tip of the state of Queensland, Australia, the largest unspoilt wilderness in northern Australia and one of the last remaining wilderness areas on Earth...
. M. e. dammermani is found on the island of Sumba
Sumba
Sumba is an island in eastern Indonesia, is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, and is in the province of East Nusa Tenggara. Sumba has an area of 11,153 km², and the population was officially at 611,422 in 2005...
in the eastern Indonesian Lesser Sunda Islands
Lesser Sunda Islands
The Lesser Sunda Islands or Nusa Tenggara are a group of islands in the southern Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands...
, and M. e. infuscata at scattered sites in West Papua and in south Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
.
Although the Red-headed Honeyeater is widely distributed, it is not abundant
Abundance (ecology)
Abundance is an ecological concept referring to the relative representation of a species in a particular ecosystem. It is usually measured as the large number of individuals found per sample...
within its range. The largest recorded population was 5.5 birds per hectare
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
or 2.2 per acre at Palmerston
Palmerston, Northern Territory
Palmerston is a planned satellite city of Darwin, the capital and largest city in Australia's Northern Territory. Palmerston is situated near Darwin Harbour and has an urban population of 23,614 on the 2006 Census night and making it the second largest city in the territory...
in the Northern Territory. The peak abundance of the species in the mangroves around Darwin Harbour during the mid dry and early wet season coincided with the production of young and the flowering of Ceriops
Ceriops
Ceriops is a genus of mangroves in family Rhizophoraceae.There are 5 species:*Ceriops australis *Ceriops decandra Ding Hou *Ceriops pseudodecandra Sheue, Liu, Tsai, and Yang...
australis.
The species' movements are poorly understood, with them variously described as resident, nomadic or migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
. Population numbers have been reported as fluctuating in some areas with local movements possibly related to the flowering of preferred mangrove
Mangrove
Mangroves are various kinds of trees up to medium height and shrubs that grow in saline coastal sediment habitats in the tropics and subtropics – mainly between latitudes N and S...
and Melaleuca
Melaleuca
Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...
food trees, and there is some indication that the birds can travel more widely. A single bird was recaptured after being banded
Bird ringing
Bird ringing or bird banding is a technique used in the study of wild birds, by attaching a small, individually numbered, metal or plastic tag to their legs or wings, so that various aspects of the bird's life can be studied by the ability to re-find the same individual later...
nearly five years earlier, 27 kilometres (16.8 mi) from the original banding site, and the species' occupation of a large number of offshore islands suggests that the Red-Headed Honeyeater is effective at crossing distances over water.
The Red-headed Honeyeater mostly inhabits mangroves in monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
al coastal areas, especially thickets of Rhizophora
Rhizophora
Rhizophora is a genus of tropical mangrove trees, sometimes collectively called true mangroves. The most notable species is the Red Mangrove but some other species and a few natural hybrids are known. Rhizophora species generally live in intertidal zones which are indundated daily by the ocean...
, Bruguiera
Bruguiera
Bruguiera is a plant genus in the family Rhizophoraceae. It is a small genus of six mangrove species of the Indian and west Pacific Ocean region, its range extending from East Africa and Madagascar through coastal India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia to northern Australia, Melanesia and Polynesia...
and Avicennia
Avicennia
Avicennia is a genus of flowering plants currently placed in the bear's breeches family, Acanthaceae. It contains mangrove trees, which occur in the intertidal zones of estuarine areas and are characterized by aerial roots. Species of Avicennia occur worldwide south of the Tropic of Cancer.The...
bordering islands or in river delta
River delta
A delta is a landform that is formed at the mouth of a river where that river flows into an ocean, sea, estuary, lake, reservoir, flat arid area, or another river. Deltas are formed from the deposition of the sediment carried by the river as the flow leaves the mouth of the river...
s, but it often also occurs in paperbark
Melaleuca
Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...
thickets fringing the mangroves such as those of the Cadjeput
Melaleuca leucadendra
Melaleuca leucadendra is a tree belonging to the Melaleuca genus. The common name, Cajuput Tree, is derived from the Malay word kayu putih - meaning "white wood".-Description:...
(Melaleuca leucadendra). It is a mangrove specialist, an adaptation that probably occurred as northern Australia became more arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
and the bird populations became dependent on mangroves as other types of forest disappeared. The mangroves provide nectar and insects as well as shelter and nesting sites, and they supply the majority of the species' needs for most of the year.
In Australia, mangrove vegetation forms a narrow discontinuous strip along thousands of kilometres of coastline, accommodating birds specialized for the habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
. Eighty Mile Beach in Western Australia has no mangroves and no fringing Melaleuca
Melaleuca
Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...
forests, reducing its potential for successful colonization by nectarivore
Nectarivore
In zoology, nectarivore is an animal which eats the sugar-rich nectar produced by flowering plants. Most nectarivores are insects or birds, but there are also nectarivorous mammals, notably several species of bats in the Southwestern United States and Mexico, as well as the Australian Honey Possum...
s, and it marks the southern limit of the Red-headed Honeyeater in W.A.
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
Feeding
The Red-headed Honeyeater is arboreal, feeding at flowers and among the outer foliage in the crowns of mangroves and other flowering trees. It is very active when feeding, darting from flower to flower and sallyingHawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch...
for insects. It probes flowers for nectar with its long curved bill, catches insects on the wing and gleans
Hawking (birds)
Hawking is a feeding strategy in birds involving catching flying insects in the air. The term usually refers to a technique of sallying out from a perch to snatch an insect and then returning to the same or a different perch...
insects from leaves. It predominately feeds on mangrove species, and in northwestern Australia is the major pollinator of Bruguiera exaristata
Bruguiera exaristata
Bruguiera exaristata, commonly known as the rib-fruited mangrove or rib-fruited orange mangrove, is a mangrove of the family Rhizophoraceae native to Australia....
, however it also feeds in paperbarks
Melaleuca
Melaleuca is a genus of plants in the myrtle family Myrtaceae known for its natural soothing and cleansing properties. There are well over 200 recognised species, most of which are endemic to Australia...
and other coastal forests and has been recorded feeding in cultivated Bottlebrush and Grevillea
Grevillea
Grevillea is a diverse genus of about 360 species of evergreen flowering plants in the protea family Proteaceae, native to Australia, New Guinea, New Caledonia, and Sulawesi. It was named in honour of Charles Francis Greville. The species range from prostrate shrubs less than 0.5 m tall to trees...
in Darwin
Darwin, Northern Territory
Darwin is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. Situated on the Timor Sea, Darwin has a population of 127,500, making it by far the largest and most populated city in the sparsely populated Northern Territory, but the least populous of all Australia's capital cities...
gardens.
Social behaviour
While the social organisation of the Red-headed Honeyeater is relatively unknown, it is reported as being usually solitary or found in pairs, though it has been described as forming loose associations with Brown HoneyeaterBrown Honeyeater
The Brown Honeyeater is a honeyeater, a group of birds found mainly in Australia and New Guinea which have highly developed brush-tipped tongues adapted for nectar feeding...
s, and other mangrove-feeding birds such as the Northern Fantail
Northern Fantail
The Northern Fantail is a species of bird in the Rhipiduridae family.It is found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea....
and Yellow White-Eye. It is an inquisitive bird, and readily responds to pish
Pish
A pish is an imitated bird call used by birders and ornithologists to attract birds . The action of making the sound is known as pishing...
ing coming close to the caller to investigate the source of the sound and to warn off the intruder. It calls throughout the day when feeding, and males sing from exposed branches in the upper canopy of the food trees.
The Red-headed Honeyeater actively defends food trees, engaging in aggressive bill-wiping both in response to a threat and after chasing intruders from a tree. It is very antagonistic even towards its own species; the males fight by grappling in mid-air and falling close to the ground before disengaging. It constantly chases Brown Honeyeaters through the canopy, though it has not been observed in grappling fights with other species.
Breeding
There are few scientific reports on the breeding behaviour of the Red-headed Honeyeater, and little detail is available on the breeding season. A study of populations in the west Kimberley reported that the birds hold territories through much of the dry seasonDry season
The dry season is a term commonly used when describing the weather in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which oscillates from the northern to the southern tropics over the course of the year...
and then disperse. The nest is built in the foliage of the mangroves, suspended by a rim from a small horizontal fork about 6–10 m (19.7–32.8 ft) above the ground or water. The nest is small and cup-shaped, and built from small pieces of bark, leaves, plant fibre and sometimes seaweed, bound together with spider web and lined with finer material. It is, on average, 5.4 centimetres (2.1 in) in diameter and 3.7 centimetres (1.5 in) deep.
Measuring 16 by, the eggs are oval, smooth and lustreless white, with small spots or blotches of red on the larger end. Clutch size is reported to be two to three eggs. While there is no reliable information on incubation and feeding, it is believed that both parents are active in caring for the young.
Conservation status
M. e. erythrocephala is listed as being of Least ConcernLeast Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
, because the population is widespread, however Myzomela erythrocephala infuscata is listed as Near Threatened
Near Threatened
Near Threatened is a conservation status assigned to species or lower taxa that may be considered threatened with extinction in the near future, although it does not currently qualify for the threatened status...
. The Australian population of this subspecies is confined to three small islands with a combined area of about 100 square kilometres (38.6 sq mi). There is no immediate threat to the Red-headed Honeyeater except the risk posed to low islands by rising sea levels, however it has been recommended that community-based ecotourism on the tropical coast be promoted, as it could lead to monitoring of sub-populations and habitat by visiting birdwatchers and local rangers.