Animalia Life

Myzomela cruentata
TAXONOMY
Myzomela cruentata Meyer, 1875, Arfak Mountains, New Guinea.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Red honeyeater; French: Myzomиle vermillion; German: Bluthonigfresser; Spanish: Meloncillo Rojo.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
4 in (11 cm), 0.25–0.30 oz (7–9 g). Small bird with entirely scarlet plumage, with exception of dark undertail and wing coverts.
DISTRIBUTION
Mountains of New Guinea from 2,000–4,800 feet (600–1,500 m), Yapen Island, Bismarck Archipelago. One subspecies in New Guinea and five more on different islands of the Bismarcks.
HABITAT
Rainforest.
BEHAVIOR
Generally quiet and inconspicuous. Emit a high-pitched tseet.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feed on flowers in tall forest trees as well as in sago. Insects captured in the air and by probing into moss on high tree branches. Typically forage in the forest canopy.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Poorly known.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not threatened; locally common.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
None known.

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