SPECIES: Anthochaera phrygia — Regent Honeyeater
CLASSIFICATION: Critically endangered
The Regent Honeyeater was just beginning to claw its way back from the brink of extinction. Conservation recovery efforts were underway to restore habitat, giving the fragile population of Regent Honeyeaters a fighting chance to stabilise what was left of their species. With the unprecedented fires of 2019/2020, there is now every possibility that the Regent Honeyeater may not be able to come back from the burn, death and destruction it has experienced from this disastrous fire season.
Quite a striking bird in appearance, the Regent Honeyeater is black and yellow, with speckledy patches on its chest and bright yellow feathers in its tail and wings. Pre-bushfires, the remaining distribution of Regent Honeyeaters stretched from south-east Queensland down to central Victoria, preferring the taller, larger trees within a woodland habitat setting. Extinction of the Regent Honeyeater would also impact other species as they play an important role in the pollination of many eucalyptus species. Habitat loss remains the biggest threat to the ongoing survival of the Regent Honeyeater.
FAME is committed to helping save endangered species, like the Regent Honeyeater as one of our focusses through our Bushfire Appeal. Find out more and donate at www.fame.org.au
Photo: Incandescent (talk) (Jessica Bonsell) - english Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=95...