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At Norgrove Park I have seen a couple of times a New
Holland Honeyeater (NHH) flying to a particular Chinese Elm tree (at the pergola
structure) and probing at its bark. Yesterday, 3 NHH were in the tree together
and I was able to watch the birds quite close and could see what they were
actually doing: They were sliding their brushed tongue over the bark and clearly
licking something up. They visit only a larger dark section of the trunk. There
the bark feels soft and slightly moist and comes off quite
easily. This section of the trunk appears diseased (foliage of this
tree is also not as developed as in its companions). The tree is probably
releasing sap which becomes a food source for the NHH.
Michael Lenz
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