A little Scarlet Honeyeater adds a dash of colour to a wintry day:

It’s interesting that the bird was focusing on the Red Spider Flowers (Grevillea). Perhaps it’s not a crazy idea to be bright red in colour if you spend your time among red flowers! I’ve read that these birds also frequent Bottlebrush shrubs (Callistemon) which are also red.

This is only my second sighting of a Scarlet Honeyeater. They’re small and move fast, which makes it hard to get a good shot. Here’s still photo of the same bird, a male:

Scarlet Honeyeaters feed mainly on the nectar from flowers, hence their name. Sometimes they catch insects.

A female was close by. This photo shows the bird’s curved beak, a good tool for probing blossoms in search of nectar:

Common name: Scarlet Honeyeater
Scientific name: Myzomela sanguinolenta
Approximate length: 10 cm
Date spotted: 17 July 2022 (winter)
Location: Dobroyd Head, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’36.4″S 151°16’19.0″E