The Scarlet Honeyeater is a small vivacious honeyeater found along the east coast and hinterland from Cooktown in North Queenalnd to south-east Victoria.
Resident in the north of its habitat range, breeding occurs on the east coast of New South Wales and Queensland.
It is seasonally migratory in the south seeking flowering food plants, typically arriving in late spring and staying through summer before heading north for the winter.
Prior to 2020, sightings of Scarlet Honeyeaters in Victoria were mostly in East Gippsland.
In recent years they have been recorded further west with sporadic sightings in areas such as Morwell, Melbourne and beyond.
The photograph was taken in a garden in Walhalla in West Gippsland in late October, where the bird was feasting on a flowering Waratah in the company of several other honeyeater species.
The name of this honeyeater reflects the distinctive red colour of the adult male, notable for its brilliant scarlet face, breast and back, with wings and tail a contrasting black.
Adult females and immature birds are uniformly pale brown/grey with a faint blush of red on the face and chin. Both sexes have a dark eye area, a relatively short tail and a strongly curved bill.
Scarlet Honeyeaters have a pleasing lilting song, surprisingly loud, the male singing from a high exposed branch. Contact calls are high pitched with a somewhat mournful tone.
This small honeyeater is usually seen alone or in pairs, occasionally in flocks gathering to feed in flowering trees, often in the upper canopies. They feed mainly on nectar, also fruit and insects. Preferred habitat for the Scarlet Honeyeater includes forest, heath and swamp, parks and gardens, sometimes in higher altitudes in the northern reaches of their range.
Scarlet Honeyeaters breed in pairs, the small cup nest suspended from a horizontal branch or in a fork, concealed in dense foliage. The nest 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 parents feed the young. Up to three broods may be produced in a season.
While the Scarlet Honeyeater population is considered stable across a large geographic range, they face significant threats. Logging and land clearing reduce availability of food and nesting sites, and agricultural expansion results in habitat loss, particularly impacting ground and understorey vegetation. With habitat changes, there is increased competition from larger more aggressive honeyeaters like the Red Wattlebird, Noisy Miner and Friarbirds, as well as predation by introduced species. Land clearing also fragments woodlands and disrupts connecting habitats, making it harder for birds to move between sites.
The impact of a changing climate poses a longer-term risk to food and habitat security, with sharp declines in populations noted after drought, fire and flood crises.
Birdlife East Gippsland meets weekly from 9am to 12pm on Mondays throughout the year, with one Sunday a month to be included in the 2026 schedule.
New members and visitors are welcome.
The annual outings schedule features diverse locations that offer interesting bird observing. The records collected are submitted to the national database.
The 2026 schedule of outings, starting at the end of January, will be available in the new year.
