Birds · Passeriformes · Meliphagidae

Red Wattlebird

Anthochaera carunculata

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The red wattlebird — known in Spanish as mielero barbado or mielero carunculado — is one of the largest honeyeaters in Australia, streaked brown with pink wattles hanging at the sides of its neck and yellow patches on the wings and under the tail. It feeds on the nectar of eucalypts and banksias, and is an important pollinator. It is notably aggressive: it drives other birds out of flowering trees and follows the blossom seasonally, moving hundreds of kilometres.

Weight

99 g – 114 g

Size

28 cm – 36 cm

Lifespan

13 years

Diet

Nectarivore

Feeds mainly on flower nectar.

Activity

Diurnal

Active mainly during the day.

Social structure

In pairs

Usually lives in pairs, sometimes for life.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

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Fun facts

It follows the blossom in nomadic movements: it has no fixed calendar but travels hundreds of kilometres to wherever the eucalypts are flowering, and an area can go from having none to being full of them within days.
Its tongue ends in a brush of filaments that draws up nectar by capillary action, an adaptation shared by all the Australian honeyeaters and one that makes them the continent's chief pollinators.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)
Habitat & environment: Eucalypt forest, flowering heathland, parks and gardens of southern and eastern Australia
Birth weight: Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Size at birth: Altricial: born blind, naked or with sparse down and entirely dependent
Sexual maturity: 12 months
Gestation / incubation: 14 days of incubation
Litter / clutch size: 2 eggs