PRESIDENTS ADDRESS. 25 



which have been torn away. Through this, no injury was done 

 to the young enclosed fruit, which would, in all probability, have 

 been the case if any of the other j^etals had l)een bitten off." 



Laing and Blackwell(19) refer to a number of plants already 

 mentioned, and add Knlghtia excelna as much visited by Tuis and 

 bell birds. 



North's "Catalogue of the Nests and Eggs of Australian and 

 Tasmanian Birds" gives a total of 67 species of honey-eaters and 

 brush-tongued lories, but the author informs me that live species 

 have been added to the honey-eaters since that section of his cata- 

 logue was completed. Add to these tlie Black Cockatoo, already 

 referred to as visiting Banksia-heads, and we have 74 species, in 

 26 genera (though Matthews puts the Honey-eaters in 42 genera), 

 all iiower-frequenting in tlieir habits. Both the Honey-eaters and 

 the Lorikeets have their tongues markedly adapted to their nectar- 

 feeding habits. 



Von Mueller's "Second Census of Australian I'lants" contains 

 8,581 species of Howering plants — a number which is now some- 

 what too small; but the records of new species are so scattered, 

 that I have not attempted to arri\e at the correct total. I have 

 gone through the Census, and tind that there are, at least. 649 

 species adapted to bird-pollination. This is no doubt under the 

 real number; many of tlie plants are unknown to me; and I have 

 also omitted the Styplielias, most of wliich are ornithophilous, 

 because von iMueller has lumped several genera, such as Leuco- 

 pogon, not oi-nithophilous, in tliat genus. But evi 'n so, this shows 

 that about 7*4^ of oar flowering plants are ornithophilous. Of the 

 649 species mentioned, :i8."), or a uood deal more than half, are 

 Proteads, wliich are peculiarly adapted for biid-visitors. 



Taking a smaller area, 1 am tolerably familiar with the plants 

 and birds of the Mudgee district. In that district, there are 401 

 flowering plants, and of tliese oii are ornithophilous, 14 being 

 Proteads. Thus 13"2//of the flowering plants are adapted to 

 l)irds. There are 194 species of birds, of wliich 23 are honey- 

 feeders (13*3%), a rather curious coincidence. It can be seen, 



