PlILOTIS. 143 



Adult male. — Getn'ml cuhmr nhmy iiic/itiliin/ thf /viiKj.s dud Inil iddrkinli-hrown, muiv ar less 

 tinyed with olive ; the outer wehs of tin i/iii/l.-^ mid t, id feathers externally edijed with olive-yelloiv ; all 

 hut the central pair of the latter hariinj ii-lntisji fijis, i ucreasim/ in size towards the outermost feather 

 on either sidi-. imdi'i- siirfiri' tf llif tuil f;(th,rs im-hidi fuj th'- tijis if a xUky sheen and washed with 

 pale yellow; firehead and eiiitrr if tin- rru/i-n uf the loml and nape hrii/ht olive-yellow, the feathers 

 on the forehead and anterim- jmrtioii nf thi- n-utre ifth" eronm suherect, fortning a slight crest; lores, 

 feathers above and hehiir tin- i-ip', eiir-eorrrfn^ sidfn nf th" Ii-ad and iippi-r portion of the nee/c, i/lossy- 

 hlack-: piirfially eoneeided by thi' i-iir-e.ivrts is a li'„;/lh''n"d tnff if briifit iiiiinbnije-yrllinv pliun>'s; 

 cheeks and tlinnit bright gamboge-yelloa; the bii^es of the fnitln-rs on th- n-ntre of tin- tliront lilarkish, 

 forming a mori- or less n'ell defined stripe ; remainder ef tlir nnd-r siirfin' nnd nndi-r liiil-riinrfs rirh 

 yellow washed n-ith olive, which is mure pronounced on th'' fore neck, upper breast anel sides of the 

 body; hoses of the long flank feathers dark grey. Total length S^S inches, wing Jpl, tail ^'2, bill 0-JfO, 

 tarsus 1 . 



Adult female — Resembles the adult male hut is paler on tlie upper parts, and smaller. Wing 

 o'6 incites. 



Distribution — Eastern Victoria. 

 ^ |(^HE Helmeted or Subcrested Honey-eater was first recognised as a distinct species by the 

 JL late Sir William Jardine, on whose behalf Gould exhibited the then only known specimen, 

 under the name of Ftilotis cassidi.x, at the December meeting of the Zoological Society in i866. 

 It was a bare name only, unaccompanied by any description. In the following year Gould first 

 characterized and figured it in Part IV. of his "Supplement to the Birds of Australia," published 

 on the I st December, 1867. Sir Frederick (then Professor) McCoy's description of the same 

 species was published in "The Annals and Magazine of Natural History," on the same date 

 under the name of Ftilotis leadbcnteri. He there remarks: — "This splendid new Honey-eater. . . 

 I have great pleasure in naming after my able and zealous taxidermist at the Melbourne National 

 Museum, whose great ability and diligence well deserve the compliment." Among the specimens 

 in the Australian Museum collection is one received from the late Sir Frederick McCoy, and 

 labelled " Ptilotis leadbcnteri, !McCoy, Subcrested Honey-eater, \'ictoria." 



From the preceding species Ftilotis cassidix may be distinguished by its larger size, darker 

 upper parts, richer yellow under surface, the conspicuous whitish tips to most of the tail feathers, 

 the feathers on the forehead, and the anterior portion of the centre of the crown are suberect 

 forming a slight crest, the sides of the head and upper portion of the neck are black, and the tuft 

 of bright gamboge-yellow plumes below the ear-opening is longer. 



Individual variation exists in this species; an adult male in the Australian J^Iuseum collection 

 apparently a very old bird, has the entire upper parts, wings and tail rich brownish-black, with 

 the faintest trace only of an olive-yellow wash to the edge of the outer webs ofsomeof the quills 

 and the basal portion of the tail feathers; the crest, centre of crown, nape and all the under parts 

 are all of a deeper olive-yellow than in typical specimens. ^Ving 4 inches. 



Many years after it was described, the late Mr. John Leadbeater, showed me skins in the 

 National Museum, Melbourne, obtained near the mouth of the Bass River, on the eastern 

 shore of W'estern Port Bay, and asked me to look carefully for this species during a trip I 

 intended making to the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland. At the time of my first visit, 

 during the month of August, only small clearings had been made in the virgin undergrowth 

 of these heavily timbered mountain ranges, and on my arrisal at Childers I was surprised 

 to find that Ftilotis cassidix was without exception the commonest bird in the bush. P'or a 

 distance of twenty miles they were also noted along McDonald's Track on the top of the range. 

 In habits, as I found out later on, they were precisely similar to Ptilotis ain-icomis, assembling in 

 flocks from about ten to twenty in number, playing or squabbling as they chased one another 



