The
mistletoebird (
Dicaeum hirundinaceum), also known as the mistletoe flowerpecker, is a species of
flowerpecker native to most of Australia (though absent from
Tasmania and the driest desert areas) and also to the eastern
Maluku Islands of Indonesia in the
Arafura Sea between Australia and New Guinea. The mistletoebird eats mainly the berries of the parasitic
mistletoe and is a vector for the spread of the mistletoe's seeds through its digestive system. The mistletoebird is small, being 9โ10 centimetres long and 7.5โ11 grams in weight. The male is glossy blue-black above, with a red chest and a slight red under-tail, and a black centre stripe running down its white belly. The female is dark grey above, with a white throat, light grey underparts, and just a touch of pinkish-red under the tail. The eyes, bill, and legs are black; the bill is just over a centimetre long, slender, slightly down-curved and sharply pointed. Immature birds are similar to the female, but have an orange-pink bill instead of black. This male mistletoebird was photographed in the
Round Hill Nature Reserve in New South Wales, Australia.
Photograph credit: JJ Harrison