# 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.

- **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.

## About

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.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/620587ef-71c8-46c6-934d-1d7f717820a2
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/12305
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meliphaga lewinii
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/395162339/medium.jpg (no rights reserved, CC0, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.