Hi All,
An old colleague sent these photos of unusual colouring in a New Holland honeyeater. Please refer to the link below. The pics were taken in early January in a garden in Kingston, Tasmania.
The photographer suspects that there may be more than one of these.
Comments/explanations would be most welcome.
Carl Weber
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92713634@N05/
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Hi Carl,
I think the honeyeater has had it’s face into a pollen loaded flower, I have seen Brown Gerygonies with black faces after fossicking on a fire blackened tree trunk
Bruce.
Pollen ??
Tony
Yellow or orange on the forehead of a Honeyeater (or other bird) indicates that it is covered with pollen. It has pushed its head into a nectar-providing flower and it will pollinate the next flower it seeks nectar from.
The oddest thing I ever saw was a male Mistletoe-bird with pollen all over its head and on the breast as well.
Anthea Fleming
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Could it be pollen from the kangaroo paws? Cheers, Merrilyn
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Hi Carl, I am pretty sure the unusual coloration is just pollen! I photographed Tui in New Zealand similarly decorated. From Jenny Stiles
Hi all,
I’ve seen Tui in New Zealand with the same forehead, resulting from them delving into heavily polinated blooms!! Looked amazing. Could this be the result of the same behaviour??
Cheers, Peter Madvig
Hi Carl,
It’s pollen stain on its forehead.
Cheers,
Nikolas