Yellow-faced Honeyeater Patrick Kavanagh/Flickr

Yellow-faced Honeyeater

Did You Know?

Its average weight is 17 grams.
It occasionally damages fruit in gardens and orchards.
Its nest is sometimes parasitised by Shining and Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoos, as well as the Fan-tailed, Brush and Pallid Cuckoos.
It depends on tall, mature trees across its migratory regions and is vulnerable to the effects of land clearing.

Dark grey-brown above with some brown streaking. It is paler below with lighter streaks and has a slightly down-curved bill. Young birds are paler.

Distinctive feature

A broad yellow facial stripe across its eye which is bordered with black.

Size

15 - 17.5 cm

Behaviour

Call

A loud, cheerful series of 'chick-up' notes.

Diet

Nectar, pollen, fruit, seeds, insects, lerps and honeydew. It forages at the flowers and among the foliage of trees and shrubs.

Movement

A partial migrant with regular movements to and from south-eastern Australia. Large flocks can be seen moving north in autumn and south in spring.

Breeding

The female builds a neat nest, usually woven from grass and often bound with spider webs, but may also incorporate bark, lichen and plant stems, and placed in the understory of forests, usually in shrubs or small trees. Two to three eggs are laid, and these are incubated by the female for 14 days. Both parents feed the young and actively defend their territory during the breeding season. Its nest is sometimes parasitised by cuckoos.

Field Guide

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What to Observe

Courting/Mating
Calling
Feeding
Bird on chicks
Bird on eggs
Bird on nest
Bird feeding young

When and Where

When To Look

Breeding commonly occurs between July and March
Young birds remain in the nest for 11–14 days
During autumn and winter, look for migratory birds that have moved northwards or into lowland areas

Where To Look

It is widespread in eastern and south-eastern mainland Australia, from northern Queensland south to southern Victoria, and west into eastern South Australia
There have also been a few records on islands in Bass Strait
In open forests and woodlands, and often in urban areas including parks and gardens, and remnant patches of bushland

What Else?

Similar Species

Singing, Varied, Mangrove, Bridled and Eungella Honeyeaters all have superficially similar facial patterns, but the Yellow-faced Honeyeater is smaller than them all, and its yellow facial stripe appears to run through the eye rather than below it.

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