THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 125 



jugular markings gives the bird a charm. If not on heath- 

 fields it may be seen in their environment, but only under 

 favourable food circumstances, as we consider it one of the 

 rarities. The nearest habitat is between Box Hill and Mordialloc, 

 and what I should consider the home of the bird is to the south- 

 east, in the Grantville district, where heaths abound, bordered as 

 they are by sea and mountain, and where sand-flies can form a 

 part of its diet. 



A large and very ordinary honey-eater is the Wattled, Acan- 

 thochaera carunculata, Lath. (W.) * It is a sale-bird at our 

 poulterers', in and out of Game Act season. In Tasmania there is 

 a close ally, and as its wattles are twice the length — viz., one inch, 

 or half an inch longer than the Victorian species — the adult 

 birds are quickly recognized irrespective of wattle coloration. 

 There are two other so-called wattle birds, Brush and Lunulated, 

 but as they bear no wattles the differences in this respect are 

 sound. 



This species has a wide vocabulary, from an unpleasant 

 jugular noise to one pleasant in a limited degree. When the 

 young begin to call there is little to choose between that of 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 (9) inches, while that of the parent is 15 inches, and this 

 difference will give anyone critically inclined in the study of 

 music an opportunity to further investigate. As the tail grows 

 there is still a variation in the general plumage, it being light 

 brown on the young where the adult shows a tendency to white. 



On the 1 6th May, 1896, Tunstall was the scene of a gathering 

 of its forces for migration. Several hundreds, if not thousands, 

 of birds were flying, grouped overhead, doing what I believe to 

 have been the gathering of their forces. A young friend told off 

 for special duty as a day watcher saw these birds return in 

 company at 3 p.m., after being away since 9 a.m. They then 

 made a short circuit, returned, and then flew off not to return. 

 However, all the birds of this species did not join the main 

 body, as I saw, six weeks later, two which were on familiar 

 ground and looked to be in good health. 



A bird somewhat like the previous one (in the distance) is 

 the Friar Bird or Leatherhead, Philemon corniculatus, Lath. ; 

 but a nearer acquaintance with it in the higher foliage will reveal 

 the only featherless-headed bird in southern parts. To get a 

 good knowledge of it one must go further into the timber than 

 Box Hill proper. 



The Spine Bill, Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris (W.),* Lath., with 

 a close ally in Western Australia, is a honey-eater more familiar to 

 us, as in a certain garden, almost throughout the year, it is to be 

 observed, suspended to flowers laden with nectar or flitting 



