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Red-headed Honeyeater (Myzomela erythrocephala) Alternate name(s): "Mangrove Red-head", "Bloodbird*", "Myzomela*" Size: 11-13 cm; wing span 17-19 cm Body mass: 6-11 g

Australia: Family Group 18 Family Group 18 Table Yellow Wattlebird Red Wattlebird Little Wattlebird Western Wattlebird Regent Honeyeater Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater Striped Honeyeater Helmeted Friarbird Silver-crowned Friarbird Noisy Friarbird Little Friarbird Blue-faced Honeyeater Bell Miner Yellow-throated Miner Noisy Miner Macleay's Honeyeater Tawny-breasted Honeyeater Yellow-spotted Honeyeater Graceful Honeyeater Lewin's Honeyeater Yellow-faced Honeyeater Bridled Honeyeater Eungella Honeyeater Singing Honeyeater Mangrove Honeyeater Varied Honeyeater White-lined Honeyeater Kimberley Honeyeater White-gaped Honeyeater Yellow Honeyeater White-eared Honeyeater Yellow-throated Honeyeater Yellow-tufted Honeyeater Purple-gaped Honeyeater Grey-headed Honeyeater Yellow-plumed Honeyeater Grey-fronted Honeyeater Fuscous Honeyeater Yellow-tinted Honeyeater White-plumed Honeyeater Green-backed Honeyeater Brown Honeyeater Bar-breasted Honeyeater Brown-backed Honeyeater Rufous-throated Honeyeater Grey Honeyeater Tawny-crowned Honeyeater Rufous-banded Honeyeater White-streaked Honeyeater New Holland Honeyeater White-cheeked Honeyeater Crescent Honeyeater White-fronted Honeyeater Painted Honeyeater Black-chinned Honeyeater White-throated Honeyeater Strong-billed Honeyeater White-naped Honeyeater Brown-headed Honeyeater Black-headed Honeyeater Eastern Spinebill Western Spinebill Banded Honeyeater Black Honeyeater Pied Honeyeater Scarlet Honeyeater Red-headed Honeyeater Dusky Honeyeater Garden Sunbird Gibberbird Crimson Chat Orange Chat Yellow Chat White-fronted Chat Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names Habitat pages Key plants Birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Red-headed Honeyeaters are very small nectar-eating birds. Their plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are different. Male Red-headed Honeyeaters have an all-scarlet head, except for dark lores, scarlet neck and throat. The rump is also scarlet. The chest, belly and vent are dusky, with the darkest hues on the chest, becoming lighter towards the vent. The mantle, back, wings and tail are sooty-grey. The flight feathers have very thin white leading edges. The long, slightly down-curved bill is black and the legs and feet are grey. Female Red-headed Honeyeaters are mostly light greyish-brown, with a creamy belly and vent. They have clearly visible reddish patches on frons, throat and cheeks. The wing feathers are darker grey-brown. The long, slightly down-curved bill is dark-grey. The eyes of both sexes have dark-brown irises, while the legs and feet are grey. Juvenile Red-headed Honeyeaters are similar to females, but browner overall and with less red on the face. Twitcher's tip Compared with Scarlet Honeyeaters, Red-headed Honeyeaters only have a scarlet head, neck and rump and no scarlet down their front.

Taxonomy, classification See Red-headed Honeyeater at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Red-headed Honeyeater is available HERE . The range of Red-headed Honeyeaters extends from eastern Indonesia to New Guinea and tropical northern Australia. There are two races of Red-headed Honeyeaters. Nominate race "erythrocephala" is endemic to Australia. They are found along a narrow coastal fringe across the tropical North of Australia, from the eastern end of Eighty Mile Beach, WA, all the way through to Cape Melville, QLD, and several offshore islands. Race "infuscata" is not found on the Australian continent, but only farther North, on tropical islands to the North of Australia, and in Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Red-headed Honeyeaters have a preference for mangrove, but they can also be found in gardens.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "erythrocephala" B. Hensen reports spotting Red-headed Honeyeaters, race "erythrocephala", at Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, in August 2012 and in March 2013. They were also found at Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, in November 2018. We first spotted Red-headed Honeyeaters, race "erythrocephala", in various locations in and around Darwin, NT, in August 2014. P. Brown reports spotting Red-headed Honeyeaters, race "erythrocephala", semi-regularly in and around Darwin, NT. P. Brown also found a Red-headed Honeyeater, race "erythrocephala", at the airport in Timber Creek, NT, in November 2018. This location, together with the nearby area of Katherine, NT, and surroundings, is the only place where Red-headed Honeyeaters will go inland (along the major rivers; in the case of Timber Creek the Victoria River). C. Pears reports that Red-headed Honeyeaters, race "erythrocephala", are found at Broome, WA. This location is near the western end of their range. M. Eaton first found Red-headed Honeyeaters, race "erythrocephala", at Lee Point, Darwin, NT, in July 2020. Later, the species was also found at Streeters Jetty, Broome, WA, in June 2026.

Photos

Race "erythrocephala"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Frontal view of a preening male Red-headed Honeyeater; this is the bird whose calls were recorded on 26 July 2018
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Channel Island Road, Darwin, NT, July 2018]

Near-frontal view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Streeters Jetty, Broome, WA, June 2026]

Near-frontal view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Near-frontal view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Near-frontal/ventral view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Near-lateral view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Close-up lateral view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Streeters Jetty, Broome, WA, June 2026]

Lateral view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, August 2012]

Near-dorsal view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Near Dripstone Cliffs, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Near Dripstone Cliffs, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Dorsal view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Near Dripstone Cliffs, Darwin, NT, December 2017]

Ventral view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Channel Island Road, Darwin, NT, July 2018]

Frontal view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater at take-off (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Stand-off between a male Red-headed Honeyeater and a White-throated Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

White-throated Honeyeater gaining the upper hand against a male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

FEMALE

Frontal view of a female Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Female Red-headed Honeyeater hanging off a vine (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Casuarina Coastal Reserve, Darwin, NT, March 2013]

Near-lateral view of a female Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Tree Point Conservation Area, Shoal Bay, NT, March 2019]

Near-lateral view of a female Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Lateral view of a female Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a female Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Dorsal view of a female Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of a preening immature male Red-headed Honeyeater; the fact that this bird has red feathers behind the eye indicates that it is not a female
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Streeters Jetty, Broome, WA, June 2026]

Near-lateral view of a juvenile male Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Lee Point, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Lateral view of a juvenile female Red-headed Honeyeater (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Buffalo Creek, Darwin, NT, July 2020]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Sedentary

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

Food, Diet

Male Red-headed Honeyeater checking whether it is safe to feed...
[East Point, Darwin, NT, August 2014]

... and here seen dipping into a mangrove flower
[East Point, Darwin, NT, August 2014]

Lateral view of a male Red-headed Honeyeater taking nectar from a flower - note the prominent red rump
(photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Jingili Water Gardens, Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Male Red-headed Honeyeater taking nectar from a flower (photo courtesy of P. Brown)
[Darwin, NT, March 2018]

Female Red-headed Honeyeater taking nectar from flowering mangrove (photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[Leanyer Swamp, Darwin, NT, November 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

redhhon_20140816_2.m4a	erythrocephala (Darwin, NT)	Contact call	© MD
redhhon_20140816_6.m4a	erythrocephala (Darwin, NT)	Contact call	© MD
redhhon_20140816_3.m4a	erythrocephala (Darwin, NT)	Q&A	© MD
redhhon_pb_20230509.mp3	erythrocephala (Darwin, NT)	Competing for food source	© PB
redhhon_20140816.m4a	erythrocephala (Darwin, NT)	Various	© MD
redhhon_pb_20180726.m4a	erythrocephala (Darwin, NT)	?	© PB

More Red-headed Honeyeater sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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