Yellow-tufted Honeyeater

1. Bright yellow ear-tufts and throat sharply contrasted with a black face mask

2. Olive-brown upperparts and yellow-olive wing panels

3. Juveniles are duller, with greenish-tinged yellow and less distinct facial markings

These honeyeaters feed mainly on insects, nectar from eucalypt flowers, lerps, honeydew, and occasionally fruit or sap. They forage actively at all levels of the canopy, often in small to large, noisy groups. Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters are gregarious and breed in colonies or “neighbourhoods” of adjacent territories, with pairs sometimes assisted by helpers. Nests are tightly woven cups suspended in shrubs or regrowth, and the breeding season runs from July to January, with two or three broods possible each year. The Helmeted Honeyeater is a cooperative breeder and highly territorial.

Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters are found in dry open forests and woodlands dominated by eucalypts, often with a shrubby understorey. Their range extends from southeast Queensland through eastern New South Wales, Victoria, and into southeastern South Australia. They are particularly common in box-ironbark forests and may visit gardens near suitable habitat. The Helmeted Honeyeater subspecies is now restricted to dense streamside forests in the Yellingbo Nature Conservation Reserve east of Melbourne.