(Zool.) Any one of several species of honey eaters belonging to Anthochaera and allied genera of the family Meliphagidae. These birds usually have a large and conspicuous wattle of naked skin hanging down below each ear. They are natives of Australia and adjacent islands. Note: The best-known species (Anthochaera carunculata) has the upper parts grayish brown, with a white stripe on each feather, and the wing and tail quills dark brown or blackish, tipped with withe. Its wattles, in life, are light blood-red. Called also wattled crow, wattled bee-eater, wattled honey eater. Another species (Anthochaera inauris) is streaked with black, gray, and white, and its long wattles are white, tipped with orange. The bush wattlebirds, belonging to the genus Anellobia, are closely related, but lack conspicuous wattles. The most common species (Anthochaera mellivora) is dark brown, finely streaked with white. Called also goruck creeper.
