MELIPnAr,ID,E. 



In his " Handbook to the Birds of Australia,'"" Gould, quoting Gilbert's notes, remarks of 

 this species: — " It is a very early breeder, young birds ready to leave the nest being found on the 

 8th August ; it has also been met with breeding as late as November ; it doubtless, therefore, 

 rears more than one brood in the course of the season. The nest is generally built near the top 

 of a small, weak, thinly-branched bush, of about two or three feet in height, situated in a plantation 

 of seedling mahogany or other Eucalypti: it is formed of small dried sticks, grass, and narrow 

 strips of soft bark, and is usually lined with Zamia wool ; but in those parts of the country where 

 that plant is not found, the soft buds of flowers, or the hairy flowering parts of grasses, form the 

 lining material, and in the neighbourhood of sheep-walks wool collected from the scrub. The 

 eggs are usually two in number. They are nine lines long by seven lines broad, and are usually 

 of a dull reddish-buff, spotted very distinctly with chestnut and reddish-brown, interspersed with 

 obscure dashes of purplish-grey." 



Gilbert's remarks as to its varied flight, habit of mounting in the air and notes, are equally 

 applicable to the eastern species, Mclioniis serliea. 



Meliornis australasiana. 



HORSE-SHOE HONEY-EATER. 

 Certhia australasiana, Shaw, Gen. ZooL, Vol. VIII. p. 226 (1812). 

 Meliphaga australasiana, Gould, Bds. Austr., foj., Vol. IV., pi. 27 (18-48). 

 Lichmera australasiana, Gould, Handbk. Hds. Austr, Vol. I., p. 493 (1865). 

 Meliornis australasiana, Gadow, Cat Bd». Brit. Mus., Vol. IX , p. 2.^2 (1884). 



Adult male— Gfiwral colour ((l>i>r,- ihill oxhij-iinn sVniJill ij t'nnjrd ,v[th nViri-: iijiiH-r to'il-runrts 

 l,larl.-ish-hr„H-i, : iippfr irl ,it/-ror>'r/s hlorkUli-hn.in, .■ qiiUls dork hrmn, i„onji)o-,l rxlmoill i/ irith 

 ,lnl,lr„-,jrll,„r rxrrpt .,o lhr 1,r,. „otrr,ll„st pr\ „I0 r\r^. oihI th, „i,;rol imrfOHl ,,/ owst ,,/thr rrmoiiider 

 ofthi'prim<ir;,:<: toM f,-,ilhrrs hl,o.-k\sh-l,ru,n, .'xl.noill ij inori,nod fur lN;,-llnrds nflh.or l.n.itl, /mm 

 tlie base loith unldm iflhoi; fh,' opirol holf </ thr imin- o-rl, ,,/ th.- u)itn;„nsf f.ofh,,- irhit.; lh< 'mn-r 

 wehso/thr io,i t,r„ p„lh,r>^oii ,'lthrr shl- ,r\th o lorij- <,rol ^i«,f ,,/ irhd,; hot drrrrosio;/ n, xlze 

 towards thr , -.Hind poir: lood doll „.v/,,/-,/yvy, th, /,„lhrr.-< ,,„ Ih, t<>r,li.„d oudrr.on, odth lod'isfnict 

 Uackish-broini r.„lroI sfrr.d.s: Inns, f'othrs h, /mnf ,iod l„hn,d th- -//,- hhirjy,sh. thus- Inhiod the 

 eye bordered obnn o-dh o oormn- o-hd, In,.-: nn--n„;rts d,dl oshnur,-,/ : ,-h,-,-/.-s ,n„l thn.ot doll ,rhde, 

 each feather Imvinij o ,„n-n,o- l,lo,-kisli-l,n,o-„ ,;-otnd stn-ok: f„r,- o.-,-k ood ,-h,'st o-hit,-, fh,- l,ilt,-r ,rdh 

 abroad crescenti,- doll l.lo,-h hor „o ,dh.r sld, : ,;-otn- ,,/ th,- hn,ist ,nid th,- ,d„l„n„o doll o-hd,-, 

 ■remainder of th, ood.-r sorfi,;- doll .ir.-ji si;,,htl,, t\i„,,,l ,rdh hr,.o-„. ,rho-h Is ooo;- distn,,-! „o thf: 

 sides of the al„l,,oo-o: ood.-r tod-n,r,rts o-hd,- o-dh hn,od d,dl .in-i, .-.otns. T„tol ho.jth n, th,- jl,-sh 

 e-2.'> inrh-s, irlioj ,,'•.'-/. tod p.',, Inll (>■;, torsos 0:\. 



Adult fe.male - (feneral colour alioce olive-brown; lesser and oiedian upper wing-coverts like 

 the back, the greater wing-coverts and prioiarij coverts blackish-broicn, -narrowly edged externally tvith 

 olive; qiiills dark brown externally edged icith dull olive-yllow ; tail feathers dark hroicn margined 

 externally with olive-yellnw, but decreasing in extent towards the outermost feathers on either side 

 ivhich have indications of dull ichitish tips on their inner tvebs : head olive brown, lores dusky-brown; 

 thefeathers behind the eye have a slight dusky wash, above which is a very faint yellowish-white line, the 

 character of the markings on the lender surface are similar to those on the male but are different in 

 colour, being a dull brow-n slightly tinged with olive, becoming somewhat darker on the crescentic bar 

 on each side of the chest, and the feathers on the fore neck as in-ll as those on the throat are nai-ron'ly 

 streaked with dull brown. 



Distribution — New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania. 



• Gould, Handbk. Bds. Austr., Vol. I., p 492, (1865) 



