412 



NESTS AND EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



Writing from Tasmania, Mi'. A. E. Brent says : " We rarely come 

 across more than three eggs to a nest of this little bird, but I on one 

 occasion took fom- eggs from a nest in the head of bracken ferns at 

 Austin's Feriy, November, 1885." 



Breeding months, August to December. 



346. — Meliornis nov^ HOLLANDLfi, Latham. — (296) 

 WHITE-BEARDED HONEYEATER. 



Figure— Gould: Birds of Australia, fol., vol. iv., pi. 23. 



Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. ix., p. 253. 



Previous Descriptions of Eggs. — Gould: Birds of Australia (1848); also 

 Handbook, vol i,, p, 487 (1865) ; North : Austn. Mus. Cat., p. igi 

 (1889) ; Campbell : Proc. Austn. Assoc, vol. vii., p. 631 (1898). 



Geographical Distribution. — South Queensland, New South Wales, 

 Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania, and islands in Bass Strait. 



Nest. — Cup-shaped, sides somewhat thick ; composed outwardly of 

 twigs, bark, and grass ; lined well inside, especially on the bottom, with 

 pai'ticles of the bi-own, velvety, inner particles of banksia cones, or soft 

 seed-vessels of certain plants (an example from the Upper Wenibee is 

 lined entirely with beautiful, soft, yellowish-white seed-casings of a 

 particular shrub) ; usually placed in a small fork, or among the upright 

 twigs of a low thick bush or in scrub. Dimensions over all, 3 to 4 inches 

 by 2i to 3 Ji inches in depth ; egg cavity, 2 to 2^ inches across by 1\ to 1^ 

 inches deep. 



Eyy.<. — Clutch, two to three, rarely four ; oval in shape ; texture of 

 shell fine ; surface slightly glossy ; coloiu', pinkish buff, with a darker 

 hue round the apex, where is a belt of rich reddish-chestnut spots, 

 intermingled with a few dull-brown ones. Dimensions of a clutch in 

 inches : (1) -82 x -62, (2) -S x -62. (Plate 14.) 



Observations. — The figure of this Honeyeater may be thus described : 

 Head, black, conspicuously marked by a stripe over the eye; moustache 

 and small tuft of feathers behind the ear, white ; the rest of the upper 

 surface dark, except a patch on the wing and the margin of the tail, 

 which are yellow ; while the under siu^face in general is white, striped 

 longitudinally with black ; eyes are pearly wliite ; bill and feet, black. 

 Dimensions in inches : total length 7, wing 3^, tail 2£, bill (which is finely 

 pointed) 4, feet g. Both sexes are nearly alike in plumage. 



Gould's initial genus ( Me/ioniis ) of the numerous family of Aus- 

 tralian Honeyeaters is peculiar to the more southern parts of the 

 Continent. On account of their great love for banksia trees, they might 

 have been fitly called Banksia Birds. 



