Eastern spinebill
Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris (Latham, 1801)
The eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) is a species in the family Meliphagidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 9.73 g to 11.3 g and live up to 14 years. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.
Quick facts about the eastern spinebill
- Weight
- 9.73 g – 11.3 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 14 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Nectarivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2 – 2.1src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- 1 countrysrc for Countries on record
Photos of the eastern spinebill
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
1 more photo exists under a licence we cannot display: view at source.
Where does the eastern spinebill live?
Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.
The eastern spinebill is listed for 1 country.
- Listed
- Not listed
The same countries as a list
Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.
What is the eastern spinebill?
The eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) is a species of honeyeater found in eastern Australia from Queensland to Tasmania in forest and woodland areas, as well as gardens in urban areas. It is around 15 cm long, and has a distinctive black, white and chestnut plumage, a red eye, and a long downcurved bill.
From the Wikipedia article “Eastern spinebill” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Eastern_spinebill&oldid=1379919755), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the eastern spinebill endangered?
The eastern spinebill is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the eastern spinebill classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyMeliphagidae
- genusAcanthorhynchus
- SpeciesAcanthorhynchus tenuirostris (Latham, 1801)
Other names and names in other languages (34)
- bec d'espina orientalCatalan
- jehlozobka východníCzech
- melysor pigfain y DwyrainWelsh
- Østlig SeglnæbDanish
- RotnackenhonigfresserGerman
- Rotnacken-HonigfresserGerman
- rufnuka mielmanĝuloEsperanto
- Picoespina orientalSpanish
- Pico de espina orientalSpanish
- manisk-meelindEstonian
- naskalivyömesikkoFinnish
- Méliphage à bec grêleFrench
- iglokljuni medojedCroatian
- keleti mézmadárHungarian
- Spinorinco orientaleItalian
- キリハシミツスイJapanese
- rytinis smailiasnapis medsiurbysLithuanian
- ZwarthalshoningvogelDutch
- prydhonningeterNorwegian
- miodopijek długodziobyPolish
- melífago-orientalPortuguese
- papa-mel-enfeitadoPortuguese
- papa-mel-orientalPortuguese
- Восточная титиараRussian
- Восточный шилоклювый медососRussian
- peliar tenkozobýSlovak
- Istočni tankokljuni medojedSerbian
- östlig sylnäbbSwedish
- rostnackad honungsfågelSwedish
- Kızıl Enseli KılgagaTurkish
- медолюб-шилодзьоб східнийUkrainian
- 东尖嘴吸蜜鸟Chinese
- 東尖嘴吸蜜鳥Chinese
- 東方刺嘴吸蜜鳥Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the eastern spinebill
Other species in the same genus Acanthorhynchus.
Western spinebill
Acanthorhynchus superciliosus
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the eastern spinebill?
An adult eastern spinebill weighs 9.73 g – 11.3 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Where does the eastern spinebill live?
Catalogue of Life checklists list the eastern spinebill for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.
Is the eastern spinebill endangered?
The eastern spinebill is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the eastern spinebill live?
The eastern spinebill has a recorded lifespan of 14 years.
What kind of animal is the eastern spinebill?
The eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) belongs to the family Meliphagidae in the order Passeriformes.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-spinebill
“Eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-spinebill.
@misc{eastern_spinebill_2026,
title = {Eastern spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/eastern-spinebill},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}