CreatureData

Red wattlebird

Anthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790)

LCLeast Concernsongbirds

The red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) is a species in the family Meliphagidae, order Passeriformes. Recorded adults weigh 96.9 g to 114.1 g. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata)
Photo: JJ Harrison ( https://www.jjharrison.com.au/ ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the red wattlebird

Weight
96.9 g – 114.1 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Nectarivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
2src 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
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the red wattlebird 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 red wattlebird is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the red wattlebird?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) is a passerine bird native to southern Australia. At 33–37 cm (13–14+1⁄2 in) in length, it is the second largest species of Australian honeyeater, after the yellow wattlebird. It has mainly grey-brown plumage, with red eyes, distinctive pinkish-red wattles on either side of the neck, white streaks on the chest and a large bright yellow patch on the lower belly. The sexes are similar in plumage. Juveniles have less prominent wattles and browner eyes. John White described the red wattlebird in 1790. Three subspecies are recognized.

The species is found in southeast Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia and southwest Western Australia in open forest and woodland, and is a common visitor to urban gardens and parks. Loud and conspicuous, the red wattlebird is generally found in trees, where it gets most of its food; occasionally it forages on the ground. It is one of the largest nectarivorous birds in the world, feeding from a wide variety of flowering plants. Insects also comprise part of its diet. It is territorial and at times aggressive towards birds of other species, often defending rich sources of nectar. Breeding throughout its range, the red wattlebird builds a cup-shaped nest in a tree and raises one or two broods a year. Although it has declined in places from land-clearing, it is classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.

From the Wikipedia article “Red wattlebird” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Red_wattlebird&oldid=1371443695), 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 red wattlebird endangered?

The red wattlebird is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the red wattlebird classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPasseriformes
  5. familyMeliphagidae
  6. genusAnthochaera
  7. SpeciesAnthochaera carunculata (Shaw, 1790)
Other names and names in other languages (35)
  • menjamel d'arracadesCatalan
  • laločnatka jihoaustralskáCzech
  • melysor tagellog cochWelsh
  • Rødlappet HonningæderDanish
  • RotlappenhonigfresserGerman
  • Rotlappen-HonigfresserGerman
  • ruĝkarunkla mielmanĝuloEsperanto
  • Mielero alirrufoSpanish
  • Mielero carunculadoSpanish
  • مرغ پوپی سرخPersian
  • punahelttamesikkoFinnish
  • Méliphage barbe-rougeFrench
  • bradušasti medojedCroatian
  • piroscsüngős lebenyesmadárHungarian
  • Bargigliuto rossoItalian
  • アカミミダレミツスイJapanese
  • dungaarrgankgs
  • raudonasis žvynuotasis medsiurbysLithuanian
  • RoodlelhoningeterDutch
  • rødflikhonningeterNorwegian
  • koralicowiec czerwonyPolish
  • Carunculado-vermelhoPortuguese
  • papa-mel de-barbela-vermelhaPortuguese
  • papa-mel-carunculadoPortuguese
  • papa-mel-de-barbela-vermelhaPortuguese
  • Краснолопастный серёжкоухRussian
  • Краснолопастный серёжчатый медососRussian
  • medárik bradavičnatýSlovak
  • Resasti medojed sa crvenim resamaSerbian
  • Röd kråsfågelSwedish
  • rödflikig honungsfågelSwedish
  • Al Küpeli BalkuşuTurkish
  • медолюб-сережник середнійUkrainian
  • 紅垂蜜鳥Chinese
  • 红垂蜜鸟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the red wattlebird

Other species in the same genus Anthochaera.

CompareRed wattlebird vs Yellow wattlebirdRed wattlebird vs Little wattlebirdRed wattlebird vs Western wattlebirdRed wattlebird vs Regent honeyeater

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the red wattlebird?

An adult red wattlebird weighs 96.9 g – 114.1 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the red wattlebird live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the red wattlebird for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the red wattlebird endangered?

The red wattlebird 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 red wattlebird?

The red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata) 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.

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.

Preview the card

APA

CreatureData. (2026). Red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-wattlebird

MLA

“Red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-wattlebird.

BibTeX
@misc{red_wattlebird_2026,
  title = {Red wattlebird (Anthochaera carunculata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/red-wattlebird},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}