MELirilREPrLS. 189 



the sides of the nest and hide it, and there is the green moss of the nest itself to make it still more 

 invisible. I found one nest made mainly of wool and fastened to the stems of gum leaves by its rim. 

 Having cut down the branch to examine the nest and finding young there, I tied the branch as 

 nearly in its former position as I could; whereupon the parent birds at once resumed their duties. 

 This nest was externally three inches and a half long from rim to bottom, diameter over all 

 about three inches, depth inside two inches and a (]uarter. It was formed of wool and green 

 moss firmly felted together, with a very little hair in the lining, and traces of cobwebs and lichen 

 on its exterior. Another nest had no wool in it, only moss, cobwebs, and dry vegetable fibre, 

 and had a bottom lining of flower seeds, the base of it was very dense and compact, the walls less 

 solid. A nest about one quarter built on December yth, had three fresh eggs in it on December 

 25th. I have not met with this bird in myrtle or heavy eucalyptus forests, always in lightly 

 timbered country." 



Mr. Malcolm Harrison writes me; — "Mditltrcptm inclaiioci-pluilns is widely distributed over 

 Tasmania, and the spurs of Mount Wellington and Mount Faulkner covered with Eucalypt 

 saplings, are favourite nesting haunts. The nest composed of bark, spiders' web, wool and moss, 

 is suspended among the hanging leaves of saplings or trees, generally at a considerable height 

 from the ground. From its small size and general resemblance to its surroundings, it is exceed- 

 ingly difficult to discover unless from following the actions of the birds when forming the nest 

 or feeding the sitting bird. Nesting operations are carried on during the three last months of 

 the year. The eggs are three in number for a sitting and those in my collection were mostly 

 taken by Mr. A. E. Brent, who is very successful in locating the nest of this species. They 

 were found between Glenorchy and Bridgewater. The Black-headed Honey-eater appears to 

 be one of the most favoured foster parents of the Pallid Cuckoo." 



A nest and two eggs in the Australian Museum collection presented by Mr. Malcolm 

 Harrison, were taken by Mr. Darcy Denne on North Bruni Island, on the 14th November, 

 1897. The nest is formed of bark fibre, mosses, spiders' webs and cocoons, all matted up 

 together, the inside being sparingly lined at the bottom with feathers. It measures externally 

 three inches in diameter by two inches and three-quarters in depth; the inner cup measuring 

 two inches in diameter by two inches in depth. It contained three fresh eggs, one of which was 

 broken in taking the nest. The eggs are oval in form, the shell being close-grained, smooth, 

 and lustreless. They are of a light reddish-bufT ground colour, over which are sprinkled dots, 

 spots, short streaks and small irregular-shaped blotches of chestnut-red intermingled with a few 

 underlying spots of faint purplish-grey and red, the markings, some of which are penumbral 

 being larger and more unevenly disposed on the thicker end. Length (A) 077 x 0-58 inches; 

 (B) o'77 X o'56 inches. 



From Mr. E. D. Atkinson I received a set of three eggs, taken on the 26th September, 1888, 

 by Mr. G. K. Hinsby from a nest in a tree on the hill side on the Brown's River road, about 

 six miles from Hobart. Mr. Hinsby states that: — "the nest was outwardly built of fine strips 

 and shreds of bark, moss, cobwebs, and cowhair. Externally it measured two and three-quarters 

 in diameter by three inches in depth, internal diameter two inches. The nest was built among 

 the topmost leaves of a Eucalyptus viminaUs. Both birds were seen, and the eggs were slightly 

 incubated." Another nest Mr. Atkinson informs me was found by his brother the Rev. H. D. 

 Atkinson, at Evandale, on the 28th November, 1889. It was built in the topmost branches of a 

 Peppermint gum and contained three young birds. 



The eggs from the above nest are oval in form, the shell being close-grained, smooth and 

 lustreless. They are of a very pale salmon-buft" ground colour with zones around the larger ends 

 formed of dots, spots and short linear streaks of light chestnut-red, the markings on one specimen 

 being paler and of only a slightly darker hue than the ground colour. Length (A) 0-82 x 0-58 

 inches; (B) 0-82 x o'5g inches. 



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