MYZOM ELA. 95 



Myzomela erythrocephala. 



RED-HEADED HONEY-EA.TEK. 



Myzomda erythrocephala, Gould, Proo. Zool. Soc, 1837, p. 144; id., Bds. Austr., fol.. Vol. IV., pi. 64 

 (1848); id., Handbk. Bds. Austi-., Vol. I., p. 556 (1865); Gadow, Cat Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol. 

 IX,, p. 133 (1884); North, Proc. Linn. Soc. N.S.W., Vol. XXII., p. 381, (1898). 



Adult male — Grurritl i-nlom- idimy. inrhiAinil the wiiKj.-,- n/id taU l}liick'i.sli.-lir(}wii, tlir qnllls 

 indistinctly edyed externally with jxde .iiil/Jnir-nlirr ; lures blackish; head and neck all round, loiver 

 back, rump and lipper tail coverts rich xnirh-l : fure neck blackish-hroivn, pas-nny into dull hi-ownish- 

 yrcij oil the remainder of the under surface and under tail-covert.^ : '•hill iilive-/irn>rii, ht'caiininj miieh 

 liyhfer on the lower mandible; leys and feet olive-yrey, iris rediiisli-hroirn." — ((iouldj. Total hnyth 

 4-0 inches, winy 2:3, tail PT, bill 0-(:!, tnr.-^iis 0-6. 



Adult femalu — (haeral colour above includiny the winy and tail yrryisli-hrown, with a slight 

 iiliri- fiiii/i' (III fill- iijijiir tail-coverts, the outer webs of the qidlh dull hhI pliur-olive; the under parts 

 yreyish-hi-iiirii, liyhter on the centre of the breast and abdomen; the foreJiead, chia, upper tliroat and 

 lower ]>ortiu,i nf thi> cheeks washed with .irarlet. 



Distribution — Northern Territory of South Australia, Northern Queensland, Islands of 

 Torres Strait, South-eastern New Guinea. 



^nr^HE Red-headed Honey-eater is an inhabitant of the northern portions of the continent. 

 _L Collecting on behalf of the Trustees of the Australian Museum, Mr. Ale.x. iMorton 

 procured specimens at Port Essington. During the "Voyage of the Chevert" fitted out by the 

 late Sir William Macleay, six males and two females were obtained at Cape York, six males and 

 one female on Long Island, and one young male on Warrior Island, of which Mr. George Masters 

 writes: — "During the month of June, this pretty species was very numerous about Cape York, 

 where it frequented the high mangroves; it also appeared to be very common throughout the 

 islands in Torres Straits." ' Mr. Masters has also enumerated this species in a list of birds 

 obtained by the late Mr. Edward Spalding near Port Darwin. In his original description Gould 

 stated the type was obtained by Mr. Bynoe, and gave the habitat as North-west Australia. In 

 his folio edition of the " Birds of Australia," Gould remarks that all the specimens that had come 

 under his notice were procured at Port Essington. In the Australian Museum collection are 

 two unlocalized specimens, an adult male and young male from Northern Australia. 



.\ nest taken on the 27th September, 1897, is a very small cup-shaped structure suspended 

 by the rim to a thin forked horizontal twig. Outwardly it is formed of very fine strips of bark 

 and bark-fibre, intermingled with a small quantity of cobweb, more especially where the rim of 

 the nest is attached to the fork. E.\ternally it measures two inches in diameter by one inch and 

 a half in depth. 



The eggs are two in number for a sitting, oval in form, the shell being close grained, smooth 

 and lustreless. They are pure white, with freckles, irregular-shaped spots and blotches of pale 

 red, unevenly distributed over the larger end, where in one specimen they form an ill-defined zone. 

 Length (A) 0-64 x 0-45 inches; (B) o-6i x o'46 inches. 



The young male resembles the adult female, but has also some dull scarlet feathers on the 

 crown and nape. Wing 2'i5 inches. 



* Proc. Linn. Soc, N.S.W , VoL I., p. 55 (1S77). 



