Painted Honeyeater Hybrid? SE Melbourne

Hello, I've finished my 2 hr amateur video of birds in SE Melbourne now (filmed

over 3 weeks) and am working on the index.

 

The first puzzle is a honeyeater that is definitely not in the field guides. From

the size, shape and colour of the beak it can only be a Painted Honeyeater.

The complete lack of stripes on the pale breast suggests a female Painted

Honeyeater.

 

But the colour of the wings and head is totally wrong, it more closely resembles

a New Holland (or White-fronted) Honeyeater. The yellow patches on the wings

are large and there are two substantial white patches on the sides of the head.

There's a small amount of black under the head, more than for a painted

honeyeater but less than for even the western race of the white-fronted honeyeater.

 

Could it be a hybrid? The bird was filmed in a tree in the south-eastern corner

of the Seaford Wetlands.

 

Anyone who'd like to see the video (and help this novice identify some of the

birds) let me know. I live in Cheltenham.

 

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Dr David Paterson

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