Curio

State Library of New South Wales
‘Bird and Flower of Port Jackson’: Blue-faced honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis), 1789

‘Bird and Flower of Port Jackson’: Blue-faced honeyeater (Entomyzon cyanotis), 1789

Raper Collection, courtesy of the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London; Presented by Eva Godman, 1962; Raper drawing – no. 49

Watercolour

Blue-faced honeyeaters are one of the first birds heard calling in the morning, often calling 30 minutes before sunrise.
Blue-faced honeyeaters are also known as Banana-birds in tropical areas, feeding on bananas, fruit and flowers.
Blue-faced honeyeaters are mainly found in tropical and coastal areas of Australia and also in Papua New Guinea.
Blue-faced honeyeaters feed mainly on insects as well as nectar and fruits from native and exotic plants.
Blue-faced honeyeaters mostly make their nests on the abandoned nests of other birds, relining and adding to them.
The Blue-faced honeyeater gets its common name for the striking blue skin around its yellow to white eye.