Helmeted Honeyeater
Apperance
 Honeyeater beaks are thin, curved and sharply pointed, reflecting to some extent the sorts of flowers they frequent. Most honeyeaters are nectar feeding birds with long, brush-tipped tongues which function in the same way as a paintbrush, soaking up fluids by capillary action.  It is brightly marked with golden-yellow feathers on the throat, crown and ear tufts. The crown feathers can be raised giving the bird its characteristic helmeted appearance. A black patch extends from its bill over the eye and cheeks. The back of the bird is olive-brown, while the undersides are streaked with pale yellow.

Weight
The Helmeted Honeyeater has a weight up to 32 grams.
Length
The Helmeted Honeyeater grows to a length in excess of 200mm.

Habitat
It is dependent upon streamside and swamp vegetation for its habitat. The dominant tree species are Manna Gum (Eucalyptus viminalis), Mountain Swamp Gum (Eucalyptus camphora), and Swamp Gum (Eucalyptus ovata), while the understorey contains Prickly Currant Bush (Coprosma quadrifida) which is used by the bird for both food and nest sites. They supply shelters from the weather by perching in the surrounding vegetation.

Eating and Diet Habits
Helmeted Honeyeaters gather most of their food from the bark, twigs and leaves of the eucalypts.  Manna is a key source of food.  Manna is the substance exuded by trees at the point of injury to trunks and branches. Nectar is gather from eucalypt flowers when it is available. Berries are gathered from shrubs such as the Prickly Currant Bush. Insects and spiders provide essential proteins in the Helmeted Honeyeater diet.  Honeydew, a sweet substance exuded by certain insects is also gathered. Most honeyeaters can protrude their tongues well beyond the tips of their beaks, enabling nectar collection from the base of long tubular flowers or honeydew extraction from deep, narrow cracks in bark. 

Predators
The Helmeted Honeyeater is food for many feral animals and dingos and feral cats.

Breeding Habits
Each breeding pair has a territory of its own, which is an exclusive feeding area around half a hectare in size. Young from the previous breeding season will be accommodated within a territory until they find a partner and territory of their own. The breeding season runs from early August through to early February.  Birds are sexually mature at one year of age.  Nests are made of strips of bark, grasses, dried leaves and bound loosely with cobwebs. Nests can range from as low as 1 metre from the ground to as high as 4 metres in dense shrubs. The female sits on a clutch of 2-3 eggs for 2 weeks before the young hatch.  The young are fed in the nest for a further 2 weeks by both parents. 

Locations
The Helmeted Honeyeater is now only found in the Yellingbo State Nature Reserve, 50km east of Melbourne.

Numbers
Critically endangered.  Numbers declined from a counted 167 birds in 1967 to a low of 50 birds in 1990.  There has been a steady increase since 1990 to just over 100 birds in the wild in 2000.

Problems

• The Helmeted Honeyeater is prey to many other animals. Some of these animals are larger birds, another are feral cats and dogs.
• Loss of suitable habitat has been one of the major causes.
• These parrots are also prey to poachers who take them and their eggs to sell.
• They are also prey to bad weather conditions.
• trapping for the bird caged trade which is illegal, but still continues.
• Another reason for endangerment is reduction of food supply, and native plants are being replaced by pasture grasses for grazing stock.
• Also introduced animals like rats, feral cats and dogs kill Helmeted Honeyeater  and birds.
• Another reason for there endangerment is disease which can kill all Helmeted Honeyeater  in an area.

Solutions