Helmeted Friarbird

Explanation: Stretching for a bit of nectar from the bloom of a bottlebrush (Callistemon sp.) is the largest honeyeater in Australia: the Helmeted Friarbird.

I photographed this hungry avian during a visit to the Cassowary House in Karunda, Queensland, northeastern Australia, where I had also encountered other interesting critters, some rare and some potentially dangerous.

But what struck me most about this honeyeater is its key ecological function as a key pollinator of flowering trees, as are other honeyeaters of his family. Let's overlook the misnomer honeyeater (it mainly consumes nectar, not honey). Studies in Australia reveal that 24 species of birds there, including 21 honeyeaters, regularly feed on nectar and serve to facilitate pollination and viability of their host plant species (Franklin and Noske 2000).

The Helmeted Friarbird is a fairly wide-ranging species, occurring in northern Australia, Papua New Guinea, and southern Indonesia.

Helmeted Friarbirds are found in forests, woodlands, and mangroves, occasionally venturing into human habitations in search of nectar-bearing shrubs and trees or other foods.

And, finally, I can't help but have more fun with misnomers here: the Helmeted Friarbird neither wears a helmet, nor is it a friar. But it is a ... pollinator!

Information:
Franklin, D.C. and R.A. Noske. 2000. Nectar sources used by birds in monsoonal north-western Australia: a regional survey. Australian Journal of Botany 48(4):461-474,

EPOW - Ecology Picture of the Week