Delightful little visitor (1 Viewer)

Hi all,

Just had a visit from this delightful little guy. Was gone before I had a chance to get any decent photos and this "grab shot" was all I got.
I think this is the north coast Cape York subspecies of the Red-headed Honeyeater, Myzomela infuscata - can anyone confirm?
I photographed him on the Atherton Tablelands, south of Cape York, Australia and I think he'd be at the edge of his range.

Absolutely beautiful, small and agile - I hope I see him again.

kind regards
Peter

www.peter-brown-photographer.com
www.wilderness-images-gallery.com

What a beautiful bird this is Peter! Up until a few minutes ago when I checked the data base, I had no idea there were so many different Honeyeaters. I think I would have been dancing had I come across this beautiful bird.

Yes KC, I think that was my problem, I was dancing around so excitedly that I forgot to photograph him
With luck he will be back.

We are certainly lucky in this part of the world and regularly get honeyeaters coming in to find nectar on the native plants.
Even as I write this, there are some yellow and yellow-faced honeyeaters just outside my door feasting on the grevillea and bottlebrush.

I did see the red-headed honeyeater about three years ago (no camera with me that time) but the last two years have been very dry, so they haven't been around. This year we had a good wet season, so perhaps they are coming back further south.

Peter

foto_wombat said:

Hi all,

Just had a visit from this delightful little guy. Was gone before I had a chance to get any decent photos and this "grab shot" was all I got.
I think this is the north coast Cape York subspecies of the Red-headed Honeyeater, Myzomela infuscata - can anyone confirm?
I photographed him on the Atherton Tablelands, south of Cape York, Australia and I think he'd be at the edge of his range.

Absolutely beautiful, small and agile - I hope I see him again.

kind regards
Peter

www.peter-brown-photographer.com
www.wilderness-images-gallery.com

Click to expand...

Peter,

I'm certainly not an expert on Meliphagidae, but, from what I can see it looks more like a Scarlet Myzomela which should co-range. If you have a guide book why don't you write me down the distinguishers of these two (sanguinolenta and erythrocephala). In any case, if it proves to be erythrocephala it would have to be infuscata as the nominate ranges in N Australia, Melville I., then there is one in the Lesser Sundas which doesn't interest us, and infuscata which ranges in N Cape York Peninsula, Torres Strait Is., Aru Is., S New Guinea. I interpret this to mean the tip of Cape York Peninsula and you are more or less at the base of the triangular peninsula. The range I have sanguinolenta is Coastal e Australia (ne Queensland to extreme e Victoria). If I compare your photo to what I have in my photodatabase the erythrocephala appears to have a darker mantle and a dirty white belly and instead I have a couple of photos of sanguinolenta that look just about identical to your pic.

Here's a pic of sanguinolenta.

Peter,

I just went and took a look at my skins database and the skins that I have for erythrocephala (from Port Essington - wherever that is!), show a bird that doesn't have the accentuated wingbar of yours and where I said a dirty white belly before these look to be a rather dark grey.

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your insight. You may well be right and it could be sanguinolenta although he didn't appear to have a lot of red on his back, which I believe is more indicative of sanguinolenta. It could be an immature bird though, as the males develop first on head and back then finally on breast.
The range of sanguinolenta would also be an indication that it is more likely to be Scarlet Myzomela as infuscata would be at the outside of it's range.
Anyway here are some distinguishers:

sanguinolenta - Imm.: touch of yellow at base of the bill; males gradually develop scarlet feathering on chin, head, then shoulders and back and finally on breast. Features of some immatures are similar to those of Red-headed Honeyeater, Myzomela erythrocephala.
Mature male: lores black, head, upper body and breast are entirely glossy scarlet. Adult males are not only spectacular, but unique.

erthrocephala - scarlet glossy, reflecting fine highlight streaks, upper back and wings are brownish black. On mainland race, blackish upper breast fades rearwards to pale grey, lores black.

Source: Field Guide to Australian Birds - Michael Morcombe - Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd 2000 Aust.

Thanks
Peter

Steve

The ruins of Port Essington are located on the Cobourg Peninsula some 300 kilometres north of Darwin (570 km by road in a 4WD via Kakadu National Park). The peninsula was named by the explorer Phillip Parker King after Queen Victoria's uncle, Prince Leopold of Saxe-Cobourg. King also named the bay Port Essington after his friend Vice Admiral Sir William Essington.

Peter