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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Meliphagidae
  4. ›
  5. Xanthotis
  6. ›
  7. Macleay's Honeyeater
Macleay's Honeyeater
Photo · (c) Romain Boisseau, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

BirdUp · Species

Macleay's Honeyeater

Xanthotis macleayanus(Ramsay, EP, 1875)

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Endemic
Order
PASSERIFORMES
Family
Meliphagidae
Genus
Xanthotis

At a glance

The Macleay's Honeyeater is a small bird, about 17–22 cm long, endemic to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
17–22 cm
Origin
Endemic
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Endemic
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does a Macleay's Honeyeater look like?

The Macleay's Honeyeater is a small bird, about 17–22 cm long and weighing 26–39 g.

Macleay's honeyeater is a honeyeater endemic to Australia. Within Australia it has a limited distribution, occurring only in northern Queensland from Cooktown to the southern end of the Paluma Range. Its natural habitats are tropical dry forests and tropical moist lowland forests.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
17–22 cm
Weight
25.6–39 g

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Macleay's Honeyeater?

The Macleay's Honeyeater is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.

  1. Jan
  2. Feb
  3. Mar
  4. Apr
  5. May
  6. Jun
  7. Jul
  8. Aug
  9. Sep
  10. Oct
  11. Nov
  12. Dec

05 · Behaviour

Habits and haunts

What does a Macleay's Honeyeater eat?

The Macleay's Honeyeater feeds on fruit, nectar/pollen and terrestrial invertebrates, usually foraging in pairs or alone.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

6 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Macleay's Honeyeater live in Australia?

The Macleay's Honeyeater is endemic to Australia, recorded across 5 of Australia’s bioregions.

Breeding range
South-east Cape York Pen., north-east QLD (north-east Australia)