Bird Guide

New Zealand Bellbird vs Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

New Zealand Bellbird (Anthornis melanura)

New Zealand Bellbird

Anthornis melanura

Small27 gForest

Bellbirds are medium-sized honeyeaters, about 17–20 cm in length from the tip of their beak to the end of their tail. Females weigh about 25 g and males 33 g. Males have an olive-green body with a dark purplish sheen on their head. Their belly and flanks are lighter. The uppertail is black-brown with a narrow iridescent blue-black edge on most feathers. The upperwing coverts are mostly dark olive-green, with blackish inner webs. The vent and undertail-coverts are pale yellow to off-white, and the thighs are grey.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recording: craig wilson · CC BY 4.0
Photo: Sid Mosdell from New Zealand · CC BY 2.0
Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater (Acanthagenys rufogularis)

Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater

Acanthagenys rufogularis

Small48 gShrubland

The spiny-cheeked honeyeater, Acanthagenys rufogularis, is a medium-sized bird, ranging from 22 to 27 centimeters (8.7 to 10.6 inches) in length. Its crown is speckled, dark grey on brown plumage. The juvenile bird has a characteristic yellow cheek sash, although this is less pronounced in the adult bird, where predominantly the cheek is white with a grey and/or brown streak under the cheek. Its beak is long and straight with a black tip and a fleshy red or pink colour towards the chin and up to the gape.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Ron Knight from Seaford, East Sussex, United Kingdom · CC BY 2.0

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: New Zealand Bellbird and Spiny-cheeked Honeyeater.