Vol. xiX.-j Gilbert, The Black-throated Honey-eater. 2Q 



During May they gradually disperse for mating, and by the time 

 June arrives they have paired up, and during this month their notes 

 begin to increase in extent and volume. July usually finds them 

 busily engaged settling on a suitable breeding haunt, and from 

 then on to December their whole energies are utilized in, and 

 concentrated upon, efforts to bring forth successfully one or more 

 broods, according as to whether the season favours them or not. 

 But they generally achieve, sooner or later in the season, this result 

 — the necessity which Nature has forced upon them of perpetuating 

 their kind. The male is pugnacious in the extreme, and nothing 

 in the feathered tribe is too small or too large to mix himself 

 up with. AH and sundry arc cleared from the precincts of his 

 domain. As is noticeable among other Honey-eaters, its flight 

 is undulatory — that is to say, a succession of beats raises the 

 body, then the wings are momentarily held to the sides and the 

 body drops, to l)e raised again by another succession of beats, 

 and so on. When approaching an alighting place they reach it 

 with a sudden upward movement, which makes it very difficult 

 to follow them at nesting-time. They are vigorous fliers, and 

 when flying together in pairs or in flocks a softened " Tsut-tsut " 

 is emitted by one and answered by the other. 



The following description is taken from " Nests and Eggs," 

 vol. ii., part 2, page 193 (by A. J. North) : — " Adult Male. — General 

 colour above olive-yellow, becoming a clearer yellow on the rump, 

 the hind neck paler and having a slight ochreous wash ; wings 

 brown, the lesser and upper wing-coverts of a slightly darker 

 shade ; the primaries narrowly edged and the secondaries ex- 

 ternally margined (the latter less distinctly) with whitish-grey ; 

 tail feathers brown margined with whitish-grey ; forehead, crown 

 of head, lores, a line of feathers below the eye, the ear coverts, 

 and upper portion of hind neck black, the latter separated by a 

 buffy-white band on the nape, which passes into pure white on 

 either side of the nape where it extends to the bare skin behind 

 the eye ; checks and sides of throat white ; chin and centre of upper 

 throat blackish, passing into a dull blackish-grey on the lower 

 throat, and pale greyish-brown on the fore neck and breast ; sides 

 of breast and abdomen creamy-brown ; centre of the lower breast 

 and abdomen dull white ; under tail coverts dull white ; l)ill l)lack ; 

 legs and feet dark yellow ; iris hazel ; bare skin al)ove and behind 

 the eye deep opal-blue or bluish-green. Total length in the flesh 

 6.75 inches, wing 3.4, tail 2.7, bill 0.58, tarsus 0.75." 



Adult Female. — Similar in plumage to the male, but slightly 

 smaller. 



With regard to the distribution of M. gularis, I cannot do better 

 than give a tabulation of ranges contained in our several well- 

 known hand-lists or catalogues : — 

 A. J. North's " Nests and Eggs." — Queensland, New South Wales, 



Victoria, South AustraUa, Western Australia. 

 R. Hall's " Key." — 2, 3, 4, g = North Queensland, South Queens- 

 land, South-East Australia, Western Austraha. 



