With fewer than 300 individuals remaining in the wild, the Regent Honeyeater is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List.
This fast-moving bird has a specialised, brush-tipped tongue that helps it feed on nectar and act as an important pollinator. It relies on flowering native plants like grevillea and bottlebrush, following seasonal blooms and timing breeding with peak nectar availability.
At Adelaide Zoo, keepers recreate these conditions by providing fresh flowering branches to encourage natural breeding behaviours. As part of a national breeding and release program, the zoo supports population recovery, with both parents raising chicks and keepers supplementing their diet with insects, ensuring the young grow strong and healthy.
