Honeyeaters Poem by Francis Duggan

Birds one does see often in southern gardens sometimes every day
New Holland honeyeatersin black and gold and gray
Of pale eyes with dark iris and dark beard of feath Hollanders under chin
And for sucking nectar from the flowers dark bill long curved and thin
In cup shaped nest ofgrass and twigs the female birds does lay
In prickly bush two to three spotted eggs they are territorial in their way
Their nesting borders and feeding trees with aggression they defend
They do not tolerate any other species in their territory as a friend
Their chattering grating familiar song not hard to recognize
That they are known to many is not any surprise
They can be heard singing in the back garden in the dawn's gray light
And where the banksias are blooming they are a common sight
In southern gardens birds one does see often they have ways of their own
The New Holland honeyeaters are birds to many known.