It took me a while to identify this bird. The long, thin, curved beak made me think of a honeyeater or a spinebill. I’d seen Scarlet Honeyeaters in the area before, and this bird was the right sort of size and shape to be one of those. But it has no red around its head or throat, and its legs are orange instead of grey.

It’s a young Scarlet Honeyeater:

I’ve posted some pictures of previously-spotted Scarlet Honeyeaters, where you can see the lovely reds of the adult birds.

There’s a small hint of red on the back, just above the tail:

This is the view the bird was enjoying:

Common name: Scarlet Honeyeater
Scientific name: Myzomela sanguinolenta
Approximate length: 10 cm
Date spotted: 26 June 2024 (winter)
Location: Dobroyd Head, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’34.0″S 151°16’14.8″E

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

Flashes of scarlet against the orange of a Banksia bloom first drew my attention to this tiny bird. It moved fast, never staying still for long. I managed to snap a couple of photos, though none very clear alas. I think it’s a Scarlet Honeyeater:

What a pretty little thing! I’ve been back to the same area a couple of times but not seen the bird again. Here’s another photo of the same bird after it moved to a different tree:

Common name: Scarlet Honeyeater
Scientific name: Myzomela sanguinolenta
Approximate length: 10 cm
Date spotted: 18 May 2021 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’54.2″S 151°15’08.2″E