Mistletoebird

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Photo by peterday
Windy Point Quarry, Adelaide, South Australia

Dicaeum hirundinaceum

Identification

10-11cm

• Blueish-black plumage
• Red chest
• Red undertail
• White belly with black centre stripe
  

Female

• Dark grey upperparts
• Light grey belly
• Slight red tinge under the tail

Distribution

Australia, Papua New Guinea, and eastern Indonesia.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 4 subspecies^[1]:

• D. h. kiense:

• Southern Wallacea (Watubela, Tayandu and Kai islands)

• D. h. fulgidum:

• Tanimbar Island (Yamdena, Larat and Lutu)

• D. h. ignicolle:

• Aru Islands

• D. h. hirundinaceum:

• Islands in Torres Strait and treed areas of mainland Australia

Habitat

Trees and shrubs.

Behaviour

Diet

Diet includes the mistletoe berries, nectar, pollen, spiders, and insects.

Breeding

Both adults build the nest^* of crushed plants, palm threads and spider webs.

^*Most on-line sources state that only the female builds the nest, but this picture shows a male collecting nesting material from a palm.

References

1. Clements, JF. 2011. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to August 2011. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019. Spreadsheet available at http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/downloadable-clements-checklist
2. Wikipedia
3. Wild Walks
4. BF Member observations

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Mistletoebird. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 16 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Mistletoebird

External Links

Search for photos of Mistletoebird in the gallery

• View more images of this species on the ABID