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  1. Species
  2. ›
  3. Meliphagidae
  4. ›
  5. Meliphaga
  6. ›
  7. Yellow-spotted Honeyeater
Yellow-spotted Honeyeater
Photo · (c) Steve Fitzgerald, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

BirdUp · Species

Yellow-spotted Honeyeater

Meliphaga notata(Gould, 1867)

Updated 21 March 2026

Origin: Endemic
Order
PASSERIFORMES
Family
Meliphagidae
Genus
Meliphaga

At a glance

The Yellow-spotted Honeyeater is a small bird, about 17–20 cm long, endemic to Australia. It can be seen year-round.

Size
17–20 cm
Origin
Endemic
Best seen
Year-round
Commonness
Endemic
  • Identification
  • Where
  • When
  • Behaviour
  • Gallery

01 · Identification

How to tell it apart

What does a Yellow-spotted Honeyeater look like?

The Yellow-spotted Honeyeater is a small bird, about 17–20 cm long and weighing 21–34 g.

The yellow-spotted honeyeater is a species of bird in the family Meliphagidae. It is also known as the lesser lewin. The bird is endemic to northern Queensland. The bird's common name refers to the yellow patch that members of the species have behind their eyes.

Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Field specs

Length
17–20 cm
Weight
20.5–33.5 g

Measurements · avonet · CC BY 4.0

03 · When

When to look

When can you see a Yellow-spotted Honeyeater?

The Yellow-spotted 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 Yellow-spotted Honeyeater eat?

The Yellow-spotted Honeyeater feeds on fruit, nectar/pollen and terrestrial invertebrates, usually foraging alone.

06 · Gallery

Plumage up close

5 photos

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02 · Where

Where to find it

Where does the Yellow-spotted Honeyeater live in Australia?

The Yellow-spotted Honeyeater is endemic to Australia, recorded across 11 of Australia’s bioregions, with a core range spanning north-east Australia.

BreedingNorth-east Australia

Distribution from BirdUp Australia community data

Legend

  • Breeding
  • Vagrant
  • Resident
  • Non-breeding

6 regions recorded