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Yellow-tufted HoneyeaterAlternate name(s): "Whisky", "Yellow Whisker" Size: 17-23 cm Weight: 20-40 g |
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Similar |
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Photos |
Race "melanops"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Frontal view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of B. Hensen)
[St. Albans, NSW, September 2013]
Race "meltoni"
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ADULT |
Sex unknown |
Close-up frontal view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, April 2021]
Close-up frontal view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, August 2022]
Frontal view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater looking sideways
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, February 2018]
Frontal view of a preening Yellow-tufted Honeyeater - note
the prominent black and yellow tufts giving the species its name
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, February 2018]
Close-up near-frontal view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, August 2022]
Close-up near-frontal/ventral view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of
V. Collins)
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, April 2021]
Near-lateral view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater approaching a water hole
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, August 2017]
Near-lateral view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
[Girraween NP,
QLD, January 2017]
Near-lateral view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Sheep Station Creek, near Swifts Creek, East Gippsland, VIC, July 2018]
Lateral/ventral view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
[Girraween NP,
QLD, January 2017]
Lateral view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, March 2018]
This view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater shows how the tufts
can be erected
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, July 2013]
This view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater shows the typical
honeyeater brush tongue - no offence intended
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Mann River Nature Reserve, near Glen Innes, NSW, July 2019]
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater in faint light
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, January 2006]
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater photographed with a flash in fading
evening light
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, September 2007]
Moulting Yellow-tufted Honeyeater photographed in winter
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, August 2012]
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater at full reverse thrust
(photo courtesy of R. Plumtree)
[Kooyoora State Park, near Bendigo, VIC, September 2018]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
Probably a juvenile Yellow-tufted Honeyeater drinking
water from a dam; note the absence of a tail
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, April 2008]
The same immature(?) Yellow-tufted Honeyeater as above,
now a view of its front; note the blueish base of the bill
that is not visible in the photos of adult birds
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, April 2008]
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Behaviour |
Social behaviour: Territorial | Mobility: Dispersive/ sedentary | Elementary unit: Pair |
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Food, Diet |
Adults: Nectar, insects | Dependents: Insects | Water intake: Daily |
Like many other honeyeaters, Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters do not exclusively feed on nectar, but take insects too. They are also known to feed on fruit and sap.
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater taking nectar from a box gum
eucalypt
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, August 2013]
Lateral view of a Yellow-tufted Honeyeater in a box gum
eucalypt
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, August 2013]
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater feeding in a clump of flowering
Mistletoe
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, April 2017]
A Yellow-tufted Honeyeater is so far the first and only bird we have
seen feeding on nectar and/or pollen of
an acacia tree (which we had seen so far only being used by insects)
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, March 2013]
Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters preparing to visit
Urn Heath
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, May 2013]
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater taking nectar from a flowering
Urn Heath
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, June 2014]
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater and
Fuscous Honeyeater
hawking for insects from a
Casuarina,
together with more birds of the same species and with
Singing Honeyeaters and
White-plumed Honeyeaters,
all hunting out of the one tree
[Mt. Kaputar NP,
NSW, December 2012]
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater looking for insects under the bark of a
eucalypt
[Deriah Aboriginal Area, NSW, July 2013]
Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters drinking water from a water hole
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, August 2017]
Mob of Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters approaching a water hole
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Durikai SF, near Warwick, QLD, August 2017]
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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.
yelthon_20180131.m4a |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Contact calls (Q&A) | © MD | |
yelthon_20220826_2.mp3 |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Contact calls (Q&A) | © MD | |
yelthon_20181002.m4a |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Alarm calls (Aerial predator) | © MD | |
yelthon_20140612_2.mp3 |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Alarm calls (mob) | © MD | |
yelthon_20160730.m4a |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
(Feeding on psyllids) | © MD | |
yelthon_20181002_2.m4a |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Feeding calls? | © MD | |
yelthon_20220301.m4a |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Various | © MD | |
yelthon_20220901.mp3 |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
? | © MD |
On 13 March 2014 we noticed the following peculiarity: On five separate occasions Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters responded to a call by a White-throated Treecreeper. Our recordings suggest a direct relation between the White-throated Treecreeper call and the response. A single chirp did not warrant a response, but repeated calls did. The more vigorous the White-throated Treecreeper call, the more energetic the response by a group of Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters. The recordings are sorted by the intensity of the calls. In the last recording of the sequence, the Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters are "triggered" twice in quick succession.
yelthon_20140313_6.mp3 |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Response to other species | © MD | |
yelthon_20140313_5.mp3 |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Response to other species | © MD | |
yelthon_20140313_4.mp3 |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Response to other species | © MD | |
yelthon_20140313.mp3 |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Response to other species | © MD | |
yelthon_20140313_2.mp3 |
meltoni (NW NSW) |
Response to other species | © MD |
More Yellow-tufted Honeyeater sound recordings are available at
xeno-canto.org
.