NFSrS AND EGGS OF M'STKAUAN Klh'DS 



365 



greenish and white ; inside lined wanuly witli a ply of fui- or hair ; 

 usually suspended at the extremity of a cucalypb branch in open forest. 

 Dimensions over all 21 inches by 2i inches in depth ; egg cavity, IJ 

 inches across by 1| inches deep. 



Eggx. — Clutch, two to three ; inclined to rouuchsh-oval in shape ; 

 texture fine ; faint trace of gloss on .surface ; colour, reddish-bufT or 

 flesh-coloiu-, darker on the apex, wliich is sparingly spotted and splashed 

 with reddish-chestnut, a few specks also appearing here and there over 

 the .shell ; other specimens are sparingly speckled all over. Dimensions 

 of a clutch in inches : (1) -77 x ■.'37, ('J) -76 x -.^6, (3) -74 x -57. 



Ohservatiiin^. — Gould was in doubt .about the existence of this 

 species; possibly he mistook it for the youthful M. lunulatus. I fear 

 he w.os erroneously informed when he states the characteristic bare 

 space above the eyes of M . hrcvirostris is yreenish-hlue. From speci- 

 mens I have ex.amined immediately after being shot it should be a 

 delirale. flesh-tint. The bu'd is otherwise pLainly coloured, is extra- 

 ordinarily active, and possesses a disagieeablo, rough, rattle-like note. 



While on a collecting trip at Bagshot, Bcndigo district, October, 

 1880. T procured cx.iniplcs of bird. nest, and egg. Dr. Ramsay Idndly 

 identified the bird for me, which enabled me to describe the nest and 

 egg. I have since observed the bird in various parts of Victoria, my 

 Last recollection of them being the 2.'5th September, 1897, when I saw 

 a flock of six or seven meny birds feeding on the pollen, (fee, of the 

 flowering cones of a stunted bnnksia that grew on the plains near Mount 

 Cottorcll. I w.as agreeably surprised to notice the Brown-headed 

 Honeyeater in Western Austr.ali.a ; therefore its habitat extends across 

 the southern half of the Continent. 



On the B.agshot trip, ah-eady referred to, I was accompanied by 

 Mr. James PeatUng, a local farmer. We found Brown-headed Honey- 

 eaters somewhat numerous, and I succeeded in obt.aining a nest, which 

 was suspended to the extremity of a swaying branch of a box-tree 

 fEiicn!i/pfii.i viminafiit). This nest was composed of grass, thickly 

 woven in and out \vith wool and fur. The latter material the birds 

 pull off live anim<als. We were attr.actcd by the lively actions of this 

 curious little Honeyeater upon the b.ock of a n.ative bear f Koala), which 

 had taken up its usual position in the fork of a tolerably tall giun. 

 The bird was clinging on in a very comical manner, while busily engaged 

 plucking off a mouthful of fur. One of our party, desiring to rob 

 the animal of its fuiTy coat — and of its life — fired, hit the bear, but 

 did not dislodge it. The discharge, however, merely frightened our 

 little feathered fiiend on to a neighbouring branch, and before the gim 

 was reloaded the bird had commenced operations again on the back of 

 the bear. 



Mr. A. J. North informs us there is in the Dobroyde collection the 

 nest and eggs of this species, together with the birds shot therefrom, 

 obtained by Mr. J. Ramsay at Cardington, on the Bell River, Novem- 

 ber, 1867. These interesting specimens were, however, lost sight of. 

 and were not described till the " Catalogue of Nests and Eggs '' 

 .appeared, 1889. 



