The red-headed myzomela or red-headed honeyeater (Myzomela erythrocephala) is a passerine bird of the honeyeater family Meliphagidae found in Australia, Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea. It was described by John Gould in 1840. Two subspecies are recognised, with the nominate race M. e. erythrocephala distributed around the tropical coastline of Australia, and M. e. infuscata in New Guinea. Though widely distributed, the species is not abundant within this range. While the IUCN lists the Australian population of M. e. infuscata as being near threatened, as a whole the widespread range means that its conservation is of least concern.
At , it is a small honeyeater with a short tail and relatively long down-curved bill. It is sexually dimorphic; the male has a glossy red head and brown upperparts and paler grey-brown underparts while the female has predominantly grey-brown plumage. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical mangrove forests. It is very active when feeding in the tree canopy, darting from flower to flower and gleaning insects off foliage. It calls constantly as it feeds. While little has been documented on the red-headed myzomela's breeding behaviour, it is recorded as building a small cup-shaped nest in the mangroves and laying two or three oval, white eggs with small red blotches.
Taxonomy
The red-headed myzomela was described and named as Myzomela erythrocephala by John Gould in 1840, from specimens collected in King Sound in northern Western Australia. The genus name is derived from the Ancient Greek words myzo (to suckle) and meli (honey), and refers to the bird's nectarivorous habits, while erythrocephala is from the Greek erythros (red) and -kephale (head). This species was known as the red-headed honeyeater in Australia, and red-headed myzomela elsewhere, the latter name being adopted as the official name by the International Ornithological Committee (IOC). Other common names are mangrove red-headed honeyeater, mangrove redhead, and blood-bird.
Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate race M. e. erythrocephala, and M. e. infuscata, which was described by William Alexander Forbes in 1879 from a specimen collected from Hall Bay in southern New Guinea. Forbes noted there was more red on the back, and the upperparts are a lighter brown. The Sumba myzomela (Myzomela dammermani was until 2008 regarded as a subspecies of the red-headed myzomela, as was the Wetar myzomela (M. kuehni, which is endemic to the Indonesian island of Wetar.
The red-headed myzomela is a member of the genus Myzomela which includes two other Australian species, the scarlet myzomela of eastern Australia, and the dusky myzomela of northern Australia. It belongs to the honeyeater family Meliphagidae. A 2004 genetic study of nuclear and mitochondrial DNA of honeyeaters found it to be the next closest relative to a smaller group consisting of the scarlet and cardinal myzomelas, although only five of the thirty members of the genus Myzomela were analysed. A 2017 genetic study using both mitochondrial and nuclear DNA suggests that the ancestor of the red-headed myzomela diverged from that of the black-breasted myzomela around four million years ago; however, the relationships of many species within the genus are uncertain. Molecular analysis has shown that honeyeaters are related to the Pardalotidae (pardalotes), Acanthizidae (Australian warblers, scrubwrens, thornbills, etc.), and the Maluridae (Australian fairy-wrens) in the large superfamily Meliphagoidea. Because the red-headed myzomela occurs on many offshore islands and appears to be an effective water-crosser, it has been hypothesised that north-western Australia was the primary centre of origin for the two subspecies.
Description
The red-headed myzomela is a distinctive small honeyeater with a compact body, short tail and relatively long down-curved bill. It averages , with a wingspan of and a weight of . The birds exhibit sexual dimorphism, with males being slightly larger and much more brightly coloured than females.