262 THE USEFUL BIRDS 



YELLOW-FACED HONEY-EATER, 



Ptilotis c'brysops, Latb. 



Tl-lotis kr'l'sops. 

 Ptilon, a downy feather ; ous, otos, the ear ; chrusos, gold ; ops, face. 

 Ptilotis chkysops, Gould, " Birds of Australia," fol., vol. iv., pi 45. 

 Geographical Distribution. — Areas 2, 3, 4, 6. 



Key to the Species — General appearance brown ; ear coverts yellow ; 

 small white auricular patch ; black streak through eye ; cheeks 

 black ; under parts with dull streaks ; upper parts earthy brown. 



The Leatherhead, the Luniilated or Black-headed, and the 

 Yellow-faced are the Honey-eaters that make themselves a 

 nuisance to growers of fruit. In the ornithology of this 

 continent the honey-eating family contains the largest number 

 of species. That eminent ornithologist, Mr. John Gould, was 

 very happy in claiming for the Meliphagidic the place in the 

 avifauna of Australia held bv the eucalypts in the flora. 

 Plant and animal are closely associated, for, where a quantity 

 of flowering gums are growing, so surely will the Honey-eaters 

 be represented by one or more species. When there are not 

 any blossoms on certain trees the birds will seek further afield, 

 or, if necessary, will subsist on insect life until such time as 

 nature provides the nectar-pots. 



The question of what constitutes the family of Meliphagidae 

 is an open one, being rendered so by the varied opinions held 

 by five leading systematists in London. The bone of con- 

 tention is whether the Zosterops (Silver-eyes), of which there 

 are 88 species known, should or should not be included in the 

 family. Dr. Oadow favours their entry. 



Of Honey-eaters, generally recognized as such, there are 

 some 150 known species confined to the Australian and New 

 Zealand regions, though with scanty representation in the 



