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| Common Name: | Blue-faced honey eater | Family: | Meliphagidae |
| Latin Name: | Entomyzon cyanotis | Diet: | Herbivore |
| Type: | Bird | Habitat: | Woodlands |
| Native To: | Australasia | Social Unit: | Group |
| IUCN Red List Status: | Least Concern |
Blue-faced honeyeaters at Edinburgh Zoo
Here at Edinburgh Zoo we have two female blue-faced honeyeaters. The two sisters arrived in September 2005 from Antwerp Zoo, Belgium. They both hatched in January 2005. A male is currently held offshow and we hope that he will pair up with one of the females in the future.
Blue-faced honeyeater photo by
Blue-faced honeyeaters in the wild
The blue-faced honey eater (Entomyzon cyanotis) is found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. Always living close to a water source, they can be found in banana plantations, coastal heaths, farmland, forests, gardens, golf courses, mangroves, orchards, parks and woodlands. They are also known as banana birds due to them being found in plantations and feeding on banana fruit and flowers.
Blue-faced honeyeater photo by
As its name suggests, the blue-faced honeyeater has a blue face. However, its back is covered in olive green feathers, its chest is white and its crown and neck are black. The juvenile honeyeater has an olive face which turns blue once it has grown to adulthood.
Blue-faced honeyeaters are quite noisy, inquisitive birds and live together in pairs or small flocks. Although they do suck nectar from flowers and trees, they also feed on bananas, berries, grapes, insects and pollen.
Nests of bark and grass can be made from scratch in a tree fork, but honeyeaters prefer to use an abandoned nest and rebuild it with fresh bark and grasses; spider web is used to line it. The female lays two or three eggs which she then incubates. Once hatched, the chicks are cared for by both parents.
IUCN Red List category: Least Concern
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