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After a report last week by Russell Watts about
Regent Honeyeaters and mirrors at Barraba (NSW), I made a side trip there last
weekend to see if I could locate the birds.
I was directed to the local caravan park where the
birds have been coming in to feed on blossoming Paulonias trees.
Whilst I missed the Regents, there were three birds
there on Saturday it seems but none later when I visited on Saturday and
Monday.
The interesting observation I made whilst waiting
was to watch a pair of Blue-faced Honeyeaters "attack" the base of the bunches
of downturned trumpet flowers on this tree whilst a pair of Spiny-cheeked h/e
went in "head first" from the trumpet of the bloom.
Is this correct? My deduction was that the
Blue-faced were much stronger birds and with a larger head would find the
piercing of the base much easier than direct entry whilst the Spiny-cheeked coud
fit their head into the flower itself and hence save themselves the effort of
piercing the base of the bloom.
Any comments from birding-aussers who may have
observed this?
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