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David Geering said "Here's something I've just
received. No more detail than I have so no point in asking for more info
or pointing out that more would be useful."
Hi all, this is a request I often get from
non-birding staff members at the Prince Charles Hospital, Chermside, Brisbane.
It's a bird that has increased immensely in numbers around Brisbane since I
first moved here a couple of decades ago & can be seen right into the
outskirts of the CBD. I refer to the Blue-faced Honeyeater.
Inner-city developers have had an annoying tendency
of planting palms in the limited space they have left at their disposal. This
has unwittingly provided the Blue-faces with a constant food source; the larvae
& pupae of the Orange Palm Dart butterfly Cephrenes augiades &
the Yellow Palm Dart Cephrenes trichopepla which feed on both exotic
and native palms. The larvae draw the edges of a single frond together with silk
and pupate this way. The larvae grow to about 3-4cm and would make quite a juicy
meal for what is a fairly large honeyeater. I have observed this species on
numerous occasions to prise the closed fronds apart to extract the
larvae/pupae.
The description of the birds noted in Wamuran,
sound consistent with Blue-faced Honeyeater. Cheers - Paul
Walbridge.
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