Eastern spinebill – Acanthorynchus tenuirostris

Eastern spinebill – Acanthorynchus tenuirostris – is surely our most beautiful honeyeater. At only 15 cm and with a long thin bill – and a habit of feeding on the wing – they can bare a superficial resemblance to Hummingbirds, but are not related to them. I filmed this adult male feeding in my garden this morning. They often get chased by Lewin’s honeyeaters, but there were none around to do that this morning thank goodness.

Eastern spinebills are found from South Australia through to SE Queensland, and then with a separate population in Cape York where they live above 500m where it’s a little cooler. They favour woodlands, eucalypt and rainforests, and parks and gardens. The Western spinebill is also strikingly marked.

(By the way there's no audio on the clip because the camera was just picking up the sound of my dog chewing a bone - which didn't really add to the effect!)