VESTS AND ECGS Of AUSTRAL! AX lilRDS. 



309 



wholo 3'car. breeding earlier than the generality of Honeyeatcrs. We 

 have eggs in oiu- eollertion taken early in June, and as late as the end 

 of Oetober. during which month they sometimes have a tliird brood. 

 August and September seem to be their principal months for breeding. 

 Upon refcn-ing to my note-book, I find that I captured two young birds 

 will abl( to fly. on the 18th of July, 1863; but during some seasons 

 birds breed here much earlier than in others. The nest is a neat but 

 somewhat bulky stnicture, open above, and composed of strips of the 

 stringy-bark ( EiiCH/i/pftiK obliqun ). The total length of the nest is 

 about four inches by from two inches and a-half to three inches wide, 

 being two inches deep by one inch and a-half inside. The eggs, which 

 are usually two in number, are of a pale flesh-pink, darker at the larger 

 end, where thev are spotted and blotched with markings of a much deeper 

 hue. inclining to salmon-colour ; in some, the markings fonn a ring upon 

 the thick end. in othei-s. one iiTcgular patch with a few dots upon the 

 rest of the surface. Wlicn freshly taken, they have a beautiful blush of 

 pink, which they generally lose a few days after being blown. Their 

 length is from ten to eleven lines by seven to eight in breadth. Some 

 varieties have a few obsolete dots of faint lilac ; others are without 

 markings, save one patch at the top of the larger end. Like most of 

 our Australian birds' eggs, they vary much in shape and tint of colour. 

 Tlie «itc selected for the nest is usually some low bushy shrub, ainong 

 the rich clusters of Ternmn austrnlis, or carefullv hidden in the thick 

 tufts of Blerhmim (B. cnrfilngineum ), which often cover a space of manv 

 square yards. In these clumps, where it clings to the stems of ferns, 

 I have several times found two or three pairs breeding at the same time 

 within a few yards of each other. Tlie ferns and Tecomce seem to be 

 their favourite places for breeding, although the nests may often be 

 found placed suspended between forks in the small bushy oaks 

 (Cdsnarinn ). In the nest of this Honeyeater, I have several times 

 found the egg of the Curxihia ivnrnnfxix (pnllirhifi)." 



The following is an interesting note kindly sent to me bv Mr. C. C 

 TJrittlebank : " Yellow-tufted Honeyeaters' nests have been observed in 

 the trees and shrubs as under : ' Old-man ' saltbush about three feet from 

 the gi'ound (Oth November — voimg) ; wattle-tree, about seven feet from 

 the gi-ound ; ironbark (cucalypt), at abou^ forty feet ; aster, with a 

 leaf like rosemary (18th October — eggs); grey-box (cucalypt), about 

 fifty feet high (26th October — old birds feeding young). Nests in all 

 cases were built of moss, root fibres, grass, and spiders' cocoons. In 

 one instance the birds were working at their nests while I was within 

 six feet of them. Tlie nests as built here greatly resemble that of the 

 Yello>v-faced Honeye.ater (P. rhriimps:}. but are thicker towards the 

 bottom. One nest had several pieces of bark woven through the 

 structure and over the branches to which it hung. Have onlv seen 

 these nests in one part of this district (the Upper Wembee River), and 

 only in a tract of country about half a squan^ mili' in extent." 



Breeding season, July to January. 



