125 



Ptilotis flavigularis. 



YELLOW-THROATED HONEY-EATER. 

 MeH>l.r.p<es.ffa.icoms,i.li^.M./a.i,u,a,ym.), Nouv. Diet. cV Hist Nat., ten, XIV., p. 325 

 (1S17) rto'/e Gadow). ,-,,o.o\ 



,.,J„.rU «»'.'. P- '-^ ^- '*»'• "■ --"^ ■^'- '■'■ ^""■■- '"' • '■" " ■■ "' ' ' 



id., Hamlbk. Bds. Austr. Vol. I., p. 508 (1865). 



Pfilons tl'rvigularis, Gadow, Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., Vol. IX., p. 2.39 (1884). 



AOULT M.LK-&a,.ra^ colour abo.e including the .ln,s and tail rich oli.e-yell..., rnneyv^s 



.fthZus '^ro.n; forehead, cro.n, sides of head and the r.ape dark steel-.rey, t. basal portion of 



TZ^^L UM centres; a broad loral streak, a narro.. line of short feathers around the eye 



:^ :Ls, blackish; u,,er portion of ear-co.erts sUky-yrey, rhe lo.er portion ^^^^^^^^ 



1-1 ■ Jail tuft of vale velloxv plumes; chin and throat gamboge yellow; fore neck, chest, breast 



ttZomTlTstZ^y^L^^^^^ 



Z^^r breast and abdomen; under tail co.erts dull oli.e-yellow with pale yellow J^^g^ns; ^. 



ti^oli^e-yellow; edge of wing and a.illaries gamboge-yello. ; bill black; ;;^;-'^> f^' ^'^^ "^ 



latter duU yellow. Total length in thejUsh S-5 inches, ..ing 4-.-', '^rl J,!, bM V., ta.sus 1. 

 Adult fkmale -Slightly duller in plumage than the male, and smaller. II mg S-h. 

 Distribution-T2.sm^m^ and some of the larger islands of Bass Strait. 

 ^AHE Yellow-throated Honey-eater is distributed in favourable situations oyer a large 

 T^ portion of Tasn.ania; Dr. L. Holden obtaining nests and eggs both .n the extreme 

 north-west and the south-eastern parts of that island. There are also numerous skms m the 

 Au Han Museum collection obtained by Mr. George Masters at the Ouse R.ver and Brown s 

 Riv r in AprU and May, 1867, and by Mr. K. Broadbent at Badger Heac^m Fe^r-ry 1879 

 fn B^ss Strait, specu.ens have been obtained by members of the F.eld Naturahsts Club of 



Victoria, on King Island, also m the Furneaux Group. 



From Tasmania,Dr.L.Holdenhaskindlysentmethefollowingnotes:- The Yellow-throated 



Honey-eater is common in the neighbourhood of Hobart, and may occas.onally be s en m 

 Private gardens but not in those in the town. The bird's ordinary cry .s a ratthng repetmon of 

 th sm no e which feebly recalls the cries of some of the Barbets of India It also utters a 

 curiou-hurning sound, bke "kra-kra,' while flying from tree to tree and bush to bus , p.kmg 

 ins cts from under bark, rubbing its bill against stems, and examinmg clusters of fohage. It 

 buUd n ear the ground and lines its nest with fur or hair. Some nests are th.ckly fe ted ms.de and 

 ar em kable for their warmth and softness; 1 have one which is ch.efly -^-f w.ol and 

 Uned with rabbit's fur, and was built in a young Native-cherry tree, t e only b.d s nest lee 

 saw built in a tree of that species. On 5th February, I found a beaut.ful nest hned w.th he fu 

 ofthe black opossum; it was much the s:ze and shape of half a cocoa-nut and very deep. U 

 was made externally of tea-tree bark and inside that of f^ne strips of strmgybark. The opossum 

 7ur was very thickly felted together and formed a close clean bed. The nests are gerjerally 

 "relor four feet fron> the ground. I have never found one in heavy forest, and nearly a seen 

 by me have been ^uite close to tracks through scrub or lightly timbered country. Once I found 

 oneTnly a few yards above the edge of the water in a great estuary where trees and bushes were 

 ve y few and most of the ne.ghbourhood consisted of houses and fields. In that nes the Immg 

 wasapoor one,for rabb.ts were scarce. A friend of mu,e saw this species gathermg haxr rom a 

 Tony settling or that purpose on its back and hocks, the pony being very qu.et and tted up- 

 co:J: hair is also used' ^he nest is not usually well hidden, however, I once found one ma 

 LTa-'ov little box bush growing in the open which was concealed and surrounded by a tuft of 



P F 



