Scarlet Honeyeater
Encyclopedia
The Scarlet Honeyeater (Myzomela sanguinolenta), 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
. The male is a striking bright red with black wings; the female is entirely brown.
in 1802. It is a member of the small genus Myzomela
with two other red species, the Red-headed Honeyeater
of northern Australia and the Cardinal Honeyeater of Vanuatu
, as well as the Dusky Honeyeater
. It belongs to the honeyeater
family Meliphagidae. More recently, DNA
analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae, and the Petroicidae
(Australian robins) in a large corvid
superfamily; some researchers considering all these families in a broadly defined Corvidae
.
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The male Scarlet Honeyeater is 10–11 cm (4 in) long with a bright red head, breast, back and rump, black tail and wings (wing feathers have white margins) with a white abdomen. The female is a pale brown with a whitish abdomen. Both have black bills and eyes. A variety of calls have been recorded, including a bell-like tinkling.
Males could be mistaken for the similar looking Red-headed Honeyeater in north Queensland where their ranges overlap, though the latter's red colouration is restricted to the head.
in Victoria
north through eastern coastal Australia east of the Great Dividing Range
to Cape York
. Outside Australia it occurs in Indonesia
, where it is found on Sulawesi
, the Maluku
and Lesser Sunda Islands
, and in New Caledonia
.
It is found in forested areas and is omnivorous, feeding on insects as well as nectar.
The late Mr. Neil Tuthill, of Murray Bridge, was awarded an R.W. McKechnie Memorial Medal by The Avicultural Society of South Australia Inc., for the first breeding of the Scarlet Honey-eater in South Australia.
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 family Meliphagidae native to the east coast of 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 New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. The male is a striking bright red with black wings; the female is entirely brown.
Taxonomy
It was originally described as Certhia sanguinolenta by ornithologist John LathamJohn Latham (ornithologist)
John Latham was an English physician, naturalist and author. He was born at Eltham in Kent, and was the eldest son of John Latham, a surgeon there, and his mother was a descendant of the Sothebys, in Yorkshire....
in 1802. It is a member of the small 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...
with two other red species, the Red-headed Honeyeater
Red-headed Honeyeater
The Red-headed Honeyeater 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...
of northern Australia and the Cardinal Honeyeater of Vanuatu
Vanuatu
Vanuatu , officially the Republic of Vanuatu , is an island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is some east of northern Australia, northeast of New Caledonia, west of Fiji, and southeast of the Solomon Islands, near New Guinea.Vanuatu was...
, as well as 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...
. 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. More recently, 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...
analysis has shown honeyeaters to be related to the Pardalotidae, and the Petroicidae
Petroicidae
The bird family Petroicidae includes roughly 45 species in about 15 genera. All are endemic to Australasia: New Guinea, Australia, New Zealand and numerous Pacific Islands as far east as Samoa. For want of an accurate common name, the family is often called the Australasian robins. Within the...
(Australian robins) in a large corvid
Corvida
The "Corvida" were one of two "parvorders" contained within the suborder Passeri, as proposed in the Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy. Standard taxonomic practice would place them at the rank of infraorder....
superfamily; some researchers considering all these families in a broadly defined Corvidae
Corvidae
Corvidae is a cosmopolitan family of oscine passerine birds that contains the crows, ravens, rooks, jackdaws, jays, magpies, treepies, choughs and nutcrackers. The common English names used are corvids or the crow family , and there are over 120 species...
.
Description
Males could be mistaken for the similar looking Red-headed Honeyeater in north Queensland where their ranges overlap, though the latter's red colouration is restricted to the head.
Distribution and habitat
The Scarlet Honeyeater is found from GippslandGippsland
Gippsland is a large rural region in Victoria, Australia. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south...
in Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
north through eastern coastal Australia east of the Great Dividing Range
Great Dividing Range
The Great Dividing Range, or the Eastern Highlands, is Australia's most substantial mountain range and the third longest in the world. The range stretches more than 3,500 km from Dauan Island off the northeastern tip of Queensland, running the entire length of the eastern coastline through...
to Cape York
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...
. Outside Australia it occurs in 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...
, where it is found on Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
, the Maluku
Maluku Islands
The Maluku Islands are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone...
and 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 in New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
.
It is found in forested areas and is omnivorous, feeding on insects as well as nectar.
Breeding
Breeding season is from winter through to summer, with one or two broods a year. The nest consists of a tiny cup of shredded bark with spider web as binding, high up in tree canopy, or even mistletoe. The small eggs are white with the larger end flecked with dull red-brown or grey-purple.Aviculture
Scarlet Honeyeaters are rarely seen in aviculture. Keeping them successfully requires a large commitment in time and experience. Various State regulations govern the keeping of the species, for instance, in South Australia a Specialist License is required, while in New South Wales a Class 2 licence is required. N.S.W. applicants must have at least 2 years experience keeping birds, and be able to demonstrate that they can provide the appropriate care and housing for the species they wish to obtain.The late Mr. Neil Tuthill, of Murray Bridge, was awarded an R.W. McKechnie Memorial Medal by The Avicultural Society of South Australia Inc., for the first breeding of the Scarlet Honey-eater in South Australia.