OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA. 265 



RED-WATTLE BIRD 



(Wattle-Bird), 



Acanthochcera caruiiciilata, Lath. 



A-katt-tho-kerd kd-rung-ku-la td. 



Akantha, a spine (a thorn) ; chcera, represenling a genus of perching 



birds (Passeres) ; caruncula, a fleshy excrescence. 



Anthoch^ra carunculata, Gould, " Birds of Australia," fol., vol. iv., 



pi. 55. 



Geographical Distribution. — Areas 3, 4, 6, 7, 9. 



Key to the Species. — A long, greyish bird, with longitudinal white 

 marks upon the plumage ; wattles |-inch long and blood-red ; tail 

 graduated, as long as wing (about 6 inches) ; bill same length as 

 head ; nostrils longitudinal and operculated. 



The Red-wattle Bird or Wattled Honey-eater is evidently a 

 desirable dish, for it may be seen for sale at any poulterer's in 

 or out of season. 



In Tasmania there is a close ally, easily distinguished by 

 the possession of wattles one inch in length — that is, double 

 the length of this appendage in the mainland species. There 

 are two other so-called Wattle-birds, the Brush and the 

 Lunulated, differing from the previously named species in the 

 absence of wattles. 



The present species has a wide vocabulary, ranging from an 

 unpleasant guttural noise to one less harsh, and pleasant to a 

 limited degree only. W^hen the young begin to call, there is 

 little to choose between the sound from the practised larynx 

 and the one undergoing the tediousness of a lesson. 



The length of the youthful bird as it leaves the nest is nine 

 inches, and that of the parent fifteen inches. As the tail 

 grows in length, there are co-ordinate variations in the general 

 plumage — the hght brown of the young changing to the 

 whitish markings of the adult. 



