Distribution & Habitat

The Regent Honeyeater lives in eucalypt forests and woodlands dominated by Box Ironbark, in southeast Australia. They once ranged from Rockhampton in Queensland to the Mount Lofty Ranges in South Australia, but now they are only found from the Warrumbungle Ranges in New South Wales to central Victoria. The Regent Honeyeater once occurred in congregations of 50 to 100, but today it is found either singly, in pairs or small groups of no more than 10. Being partly migratory, the Honeyeater generally moves northwards in autumn and winter, returning south to breed in spring and congregating within all ranges when food is abundant.

Breeding

Nests are constructed from strips of eucalypt bark, dried grasses and other plant materials. The bark strips form a thick, walled cup with cobwebs binding it together and fine dried grasses lining the nest. Two or three eggs are generally laid, which are red-buff in colour and speckled with small purple-red and violet-grey markings. Regent Honeyeaters usually nest in isolated pairs. The female incubates the eggs with the male always close in nearby trees. He later helps the female with the feed the young.

Diet

The Regent Honeyeaters depends mostly on the flowers of four eucalypt species and native mistletoe for its nectar supply. They also eat insects, manna gum, lerps (a small bug that lives on gum leaves) and hawk insects in flight in the high canopies of the woodland trees.