new holland honey eater

Under my bedroom window is a hedge of grevilleas that flowers almost year round. On a summer morning one of these guys comes and sits on the sill and taps on the windows and this winter afternoon I stood on the porch and watched as a couple of them methodically sampled all the flowers.

One of the first birds to be scientifically described in Aus the late 1700s. the honey eater, unlike the hummingbird,doesn't really hover but flits from flower to flower often hanging upside down to get the precious nectar.
Like the hummingbirds however, they have a special wing configuration that makes them one of a few birds in the world wide that can fly BACKWARDS!!

Now that is something you don't see every day! and certainly something I didn't see today.