Lewin's Honeyeater
Meliphaga lewinii
Their signature call sounds remarkably like a rapid, staccato machine-gun rattle, making them easy to identify by ear even when hidden deep in the canopy.
- Scientific name
- Meliphaga lewinii
- Taxonomy
- Animalia › Chordata › Aves › Passeriformes › Meliphagidae › Meliphaga
- IUCN Red List status
- Least Concern
- Population trend
- stable
- Biome
- forest
- Habitat
- Wet sclerophyll forests, temperate rainforests, woodland margins, and urban gardens with dense foliage.
- Diet
- Nectar, fleshy fruits (especially berries), and insects caught mid-air or gleaned from bark.
- Range
- Eastern Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria
- Size
- 19 to 21 cm in length, weighing 30 to 40 grams
- Lifespan
- 8 to 10 years
- Active
- diurnal
- Threats
- Habitat fragmentation, land clearing for urban development, and loss of native flowering understory plants.
- Safe to approach?
- Harmless. Lewin's Honeyeaters are bold and curious, often approaching outdoor dining areas. Keep a respectful distance of 2 to 5 meters. Do not feed them human food, as processed sugars and bread can cause severe nutritional deficiencies. Enjoy their energetic presence and distinct rattling calls from a distance.
The Lewin's honeyeater ( Meliphaga lewinii ) is a bird that inhabits the ranges along the east coast of Australia. It has a semicircular ear patch, pale yellow in colour.
Photo: no rights reserved, CC0, via iNaturalist
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