Mistletoebird
Dicaeum hirundinaceum (Shaw, 1792)
The mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) is a species in the family Dicaeidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 8.5 g to 9.28 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the mistletoebird
- Weight
- 8.5 g – 9.28 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.5src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the mistletoebird live?
Not recorded
What is the mistletoebird?
The mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum), also known as the mistletoe flowerpecker, is a species of flowerpecker native to most of Australia (though absent from Tasmania and the driest desert areas) and also to the eastern Maluku Islands of Indonesia in the Arafura Sea between Australia and New Guinea. The mistletoebird eats mainly the berries of the parasitic mistletoe and is a vector for the spread of the mistletoe's seeds through its digestive system.
From the Wikipedia article “Mistletoebird” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mistletoebird&oldid=1360253124), 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 mistletoebird endangered?
The mistletoebird 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 mistletoebird classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPasseriformes
- familyDicaeidae
- genusDicaeum
- SpeciesDicaeum hirundinaceum (Shaw, 1792)
Synonyms Dicaeum atrogaster, Dicaeum hirundinaceum tormenti, Dicaeum hirundinaceum yorki, Dicaeum sanguinea, Motacilla hirundinacea, Pipra desmaretii, Pipra gularis, Sylvia rubricollis
Other names and names in other languages (34)
- Australian flowerpeckerEnglish
- Mistletoe flowerpeckerEnglish
- picaflors australiàCatalan
- květozob vlaštovčíCzech
- pigwr blodau uchelwyddWelsh
- MistelfuglDanish
- RotsteißmistelfresserGerman
- Rotsteiß-MistelfresserGerman
- viska dikeoEsperanto
- Picaflores golondrinaSpanish
- mistelikukastajaFinnish
- Dicée hirondelleFrench
- australska imelašicaCroatian
- fecskefejű virágjáróHungarian
- Cabai benaluIndonesian
- Beccafiore del vischioItalian
- ヤドリギハナドリJapanese
- ヤドリギハナドリ [yadorigihanadori]Japanese
- amalinis žiedsiurbysLithuanian
- RoodstuithoningvogelDutch
- mistelteinfuglNorwegian
- kwiatówka różowaPolish
- pica-flor-andorinhaPortuguese
- pica-flor-australianoPortuguese
- pica-flores-de-peito-vermelhoPortuguese
- Ласточковый цветоедRussian
- bobuliar imelovýSlovak
- Cvetarka imelašicaSerbian
- mistelblomsterpickareSwedish
- Kırlangıç ÖksekuşuTurkish
- квіткоїд австралійськийUkrainian
- 槲啄花Chinese
- 澳洲啄花Chinese
- 澳洲啄花鸟Chinese
Relatives of the mistletoebird
Other species in the same genus Dicaeum.

Scarlet-backed flowerpecker
Dicaeum cruentatum

Pale-billed flowerpecker
Dicaeum erythrorhynchos

Thick-billed flowerpecker
Dicaeum agile

Yellow-vented flowerpecker
Dicaeum chrysorrheum

Fire-breasted flowerpecker
Dicaeum ignipectus

Yellow-sided flowerpecker
Dicaeum aureolimbatum
CompareMistletoebird vs Scarlet-backed flowerpeckerMistletoebird vs Pale-billed flowerpeckerMistletoebird vs Thick-billed flowerpeckerMistletoebird vs Yellow-vented flowerpecker
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the mistletoebird?
An adult mistletoebird weighs 8.5 g – 9.28 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the mistletoebird endangered?
The mistletoebird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
What kind of animal is the mistletoebird?
The mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) belongs to the family Dicaeidae 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). Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mistletoebird
“Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mistletoebird.
@misc{mistletoebird_2026,
title = {Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mistletoebird},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}