The blue-faced honeyeater generally forages in the branches and foliage of trees, in small groups of up to seven birds. Occasionally, larger flocks of up to 30 individuals have been reported, and the species has been encountered in a mixed-species foraging flock with the little friarbird ("Philemon citreogularis"). The bulk of their diet consists of insects, including cockroaches, termites, grasshoppers, bugs such as lerps, scale (Coccidae) and shield bugs (Pentatomidae), beetles such as bark beetles, chafers (subfamily Melolonthinae), click beetles (genus "Demetrida"), darkling beetles (genera "Chalcopteroides" and "Homotrysis"), leaf beetles (genus "Paropsis"), ladybirds of the genus "Scymnus", weevils such as the pinhole borer ("Platypus australis"), and members of the genera "Mandalotus", "Polyphrades" and "Prypnus", as well as flies, moths, bees, ants, and spiders. Blue-faced honeyeaters have been reported preying on small lizards. Prey are caught mostly by sallying, although birds also probe and glean. In Kakadu National Park, birds prefer to hunt prey between the leaf bases of the screw palm ("Pandanus spiralis").