Helmeted Honeyeater
The Helmeted Honeyeater is the Victorian Bird Emblem.
They are one of our Australian birds that are listed as critically endangered.
Honeyeaters are unique to Australasia and are most common in Australia and New Guinea.
The Helmeted variety is the largest and the most colourful of the four subspecies of the Yellow-tufted Honeyeater.
They measure about 20 centimetres, and range in colour from black to olive brown to yellow, with a yellow crest or helmet.
Most Honeyeaters feed on nectar, but for some, such as the Helmeted nectar is only a small part of their diet.
A lot of this Honeyeaters food comes from the bark, twigs and leaves of eucalypts, and from manna, which is a substance like sap, from trees. They also feed on berries, insects and spiders.
Yellow-tufted Honeyeater by Michael Dahlem at
Oz Birds
Breeding time is from early August through to early February.
Two eggs are usually laid about two to three times a year.
The female incubates the eggs for about 14 days, then both parents care for the young.
They can only be found in the Yellingbo Reserve and Bunyip State Park in Victoria.
The Helmeted Honeyeater was proclaimed the
Victoria
Bird Emblem in 1971
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"The Legend of Bimi"
Introduction
There's a tale that begins in the sand hills
That I would like to tell,
Built from myth and many legends,
And my pen it does compel.
The desert's a hot, a hostile place,
Nothing's changed since time began,
There's a hazy unreality there
As if it, in the dreamtime was planned.
The noon of the day is so hot and still,
And over all an expectant hush,
Like a canvas that's waiting impatiently
For the touch of the artists brush.
The fire of the day can change swifly
To the night of startlingly cold,
Many legends are told of the people
Who live in this land so old.
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"The Legend of Bimi" just go to our
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We know you will love it!