Vol. ill"! Littler, Notes on Some Birds Peculiar to Tasmania. 87 



1903 j ' / 



employed in its construction being narrow strips of stringybark, 

 tine grass stems, thin, pliant twigs, and the cocoons of spiders ; 

 the inside lining consists of kangaroo or opossum fur, wool, or 

 even the hair-like substance from the bases of " man tree-fern " 

 fronds. The nest is placed either low down in the centre of a 

 thick bush standing almost alone in fairly open country, or 

 else in a thick tangle of scrub. Generally two to three eggs are 

 laid, but as many as five have been found in a nest. In shape 

 they are inclined to oval ; the texture of the shell is fine and the 

 surface slightly lustrous ; the ground colour is fleshy or pinkish- 

 white, with small spots of reddish-brown and purplish-grey, 

 sometimes without the latter, distributed over the surface. The 

 dimensions are about five-sixths of an inch long by three-quarters 

 of an inch broad. 



Last King's Birthday twelve months (1901) I spent, in company 

 with a number of others, at St. Patrick's River, whence Launces- 

 ton is supplied with water. While wandering through the scrub 

 by the riverside with a young companion, our attention was 

 attracted by the behaviour of a pair of Yellow-throated Honey- 

 eaters ; it seemed as though there must be something in the 

 neighbourhood the birds did not wish us to see. Thinking their 

 nest might be close by, we commenced a search, but did not 

 succeed in rinding anything. As we were retracing our steps, 

 however, an exclamation from my companion quickly brought 

 me to him, and there, perched on a twig some three feet from the 

 ground, was a pair of young Yellow-throated Honey-eaters, 

 fully fledged. We then sat down on a log some three feet from 

 the birds, and watched them for some time. The old birds were 

 very much concerned at our presence ; they never moved more 

 than a few yards, then returned and fluttered round us, uttering 

 cries of distress. The young birds seemed to consider us strange 

 animals, but could not decide whether to be alarmed or not. In 

 reply to their parents' cries they chirped after the fashion of 

 young Sparrows. At length the old birds enticed the young 

 ones to move from our vicinity oft into a denser part. Although 

 the birds were fully fledged, and able to use their wings a little, 

 their tail feathers were only about three-quarters of an inch long. 

 The under and upper surfaces were greyish, not yet having 

 attained the yellowish tinge ; the wings were paler than in the 

 adult stage. The parent birds looked very handsome in their 

 yellowish-green livery, fluttering from bough to bough in the 

 bright sunshine. After a while they seemed to understand no 

 harm would come to their young, for they ceased to fly round 

 excitedly, and contented themselves with remaining in the 

 neighbourhood. 



The Yellow-throated Honey-eater favours fairly heavily tim- 

 bered country, whence it procures its food, which consists of 

 various kinds of insects obtained from under the bark of the 

 trees of its haunts, as well as flies, &C. The vocal powers of the 

 species are practically limited to a loud whistle-like call note often 



