Tiny myzomela, and smallest honeyeater. Male is distinctive but somewhat variable, mostly dark grey to dusky black, merging to off-white on belly, flanks vent and undertail-coverts, with red to bright red hood marked with blackish loral stripe continuous with blackish ring around eye and short diffuse and narrow dusky line or smudge behind eye, bright red rump and uppertail-coverts, dark grey uppertail, upperwing dark brownish-grey, darker than mantle, back and scapulars, greater wing-coverts finely margined paler brown, remiges with fine olive-brown outer edges, iris blackish brown to black, bill black, sometimes merging to yellowish base or basal tomia of lower mandible, bape black or yellowish, legs dark greenish or yellowish-grey. Female is largely olive-grey, merging to paler dirty white off-white on belly and flanks to undertail-coverts, with diffuse reddish wash in malar area, lower ear-coverts, chin and upper throat, diffuse pale eyering, yellowish-olive fringes on median and secondary coverts and pale yellowish outer edges on remiges, some may show faint reddish or rufous tone on head, gape pale yellow. Juvenile and immature undescribed.
Not Threatened
Tiny myzomela, and smallest honeyeater. Male is distinctive but somewhat variable, mostly dark grey to dusky black, merging to off-white on belly, flanks vent and undertail-coverts, with red to bright red hood marked with blackish loral stripe continuous with blackish ring around eye and short diffuse and narrow dusky line or smudge behind eye, bright red rump and uppertail-coverts, dark grey uppertail, upperwing dark brownish-grey, darker than mantle, back and scapulars, greater wing-coverts finely margined paler brown, remiges with fine olive-brown outer edges, iris blackish brown to black, bill black, sometimes merging to yellowish base or basal tomia of lower mandible, bape black or yellowish, legs dark greenish or yellowish-grey. Female is largely olive-grey, merging to paler dirty white off-white on belly and flanks to undertail-coverts, with diffuse reddish wash in malar area, lower ear-coverts, chin and upper throat, diffuse pale eyering, yellowish-olive fringes on median and secondary coverts and pale yellowish outer edges on remiges, some may show faint reddish or rufous tone on head, gape pale yellow. Juvenile and immature undescribed.
9-10 cm, unsexed mean 7.4 g, two females 7 g and 8 g
Taxonomy: Myzomela adolphinae Salvadori, 1876, Arfak Mountains, north-west New Guinea. Closely related to the M. cardinalis superspecies. Some reported variation between specimens from S & SE New Guinea and those from Huon Peninsula and Arfak Mts, with males of S & SE blacker on upperbody and upper breast but with lighter red head, and females also darker above and on breast; study needed. Monotypic. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Distribution:
- Mountains of W, N & E New Guinea (Vogelkop, C North Coastal Range, Central Highlands E from L Kopiago, Adelbert Mts, Huon Peninsula and SE).
Montane and mid-montane primary forest, tall secondary growth and other modified habitats, such as settlements and towns, gardens, open areas and farmland, including groves of casuarinas or eucalyptus in town or agricultural areas, common also in Castanopsis oak woodland and described as common in Central Highlands. Mostly lower mountains between 1150-2000 m.
Nectar, small arthropods, apparently mainly insect, including small beetles and small homopteran bugs. Frequents canopy of forest, and usually seen well only in gardens and disturbed habitats, in flowering trees. Nectar obtained by probing flowers of canopy vegetation, insect gleaned from foliage.
Two nests with chicks in mid-Jul and late Oct. One nest a neat, finely made up cup wove into dead bracken that projected 10 cm in front of nest to make a verandah.