These are found in Australia, eastern Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. In Australia they are common along the east coast from Queensland to South Australia and northwest Tasmania. They live in rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas; they have adapted well to urbanisation and are commonly encountered in well-treed suburbs.  They are often seen in loud and fast-moving  flocks, or in communal roosts at dusk.
Their diet is mainly fruit, pollen and nectar, and they possess a tongue adapted especially for their particular diet; the end of it is covered with small knobs to help in collecting nectar from flowers. They also eat crops such as apples, and will raid maize and sorghum.
Males and females look the same and the nest is usually in the hollow limb of a eucalypt tree lined with chewed or decayed wood. Both adults prepare the nest cavity and feed the young, but only the female incubates the eggs. They defend their feeding and nesting areas aggressively against other bird species  chasing off not only smaller birds like the Noisy Miner, but also larger and more powerful ones such as the Magpie.