| Actual Image
Blue Faced Honey Eater (36)
rcrick
![Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 711 W: 36 N: 1549]](http://i1.treknature.com/misc/g-s-g.gif) (4991) | I’ve been trying to catch theses guys in the garden for a while now. The Blue Faced Honey Eater is another favourite of mine, especially the adult birds which have this wonderful bright blue mask around the eye.
I had four juveniles come into the garden yesterday and have a feed in the Honey Gems, which much to the disgust of the Rainbow Lorikeets who seem to be under the impression the whole garden belongs to them.
The Blue-faced Honeyeater is a large black, white and golden olive-green honeyeater with striking blue skin around the yellow to white eye. The crown, face and neck are black, with a narrow white band across the back of the neck. The upperparts and wings are a golden olive green, and the underparts are white, with a grey-black throat and upper breast. The blue facial skin is two-toned, with the lower half a brilliant cobalt blue.
As mentioned Juvenile birds are similar to the adults but the facial skin is yellow-green and the bib is a lighter grey. This honeyeater is noisy and gregarious, and is usually seen in pairs or small flocks. It is known as the Banana-bird in tropical areas, for its habit of feeding on banana fruit and flowers.
They are found in northern and eastern mainland Australia, from the Kimberley region, Western Australia to near Adelaide, South Australia, being more common in the north of its range. It is not found in central southern New South Wales or eastern Victoria. This species is also found in Papua New Guinea.
They like tropical, sub-tropical and wetter temperate or semi-arid zones. It is mostly found in open forests and woodlands close to water, as well as monsoon forests, mangroves and coastal heathlands. It is often seen in banana plantations, orchards, farm lands and in urban parks, gardens and golf courses.
They feed mostly on insects and other invertebrates, but also eats nectar and fruit from native and exotic plants. It forages in pairs or noisy flocks of up to seven birds (occasionally many more) on the bark and limbs of trees, as well as on flowers and foliage. These flocks tend to exclude other birds from the feeding area, but they do feed in association with other species such as Yellow-throated Miners and Little Friarbirds.
Details, Shot Raw and converted to jpeg, copped slightly and re-sized, re-sharpened for posting.
File Name IMG_0026.CR2
Camera Model Canon EOS-1D Mark III
Shooting Date/Time 5/01/2009 4:06:12 PM
Shooting Mode Aperture-Priority AE
Tv( Shutter Speed ) 1/125
Av( Aperture Value ) 13.0
Metering Mode Partial Metering
Exposure Compensation 0
ISO Speed 320
Lens EF100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM
Focal Length 400.0 mm
Image Size 756x800
Image Quality Jpeg
Flash Off
White Balance Mode Custom
White balance compensation A1 G1
AF Mode One-Shot AF
Picture Style User Defined 1(Neutral)
Sharpness 6
Contrast 2
Saturation 2
Color tone 1
Color Space sRGB
Long exposure noise reduction 2:Enable
High ISO speed noise reduction 1:Enable
Highlight tone priority 0:Disable
File Size 181.3 KB
Drive Mode Low-speed continuous shooting |
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