Vol. IV 

 iqo5 



1 Campbell, Victorian and J asmaiiian Birds. 1 23 



dark grey above and dull brown below, with a light-coloured 

 bill .6 inch in length. Just before its death, which unfortunately 

 occurred through improper feeding, a light-coloured patch was 

 beginning to show at tlie top of the throat, as well as the black 

 crescent across the chest, and the brighter markings on the 

 back and head. The eye remained brown. 



Melithrcptus validirostris (Strong-billed Honey-eater). — The 

 King Island specimen, as a sub-insular form, is noticeably the 

 larger, particularly in the bill, which is .75 inch in length against 

 .6 in the female Tasmanian bird ; however, the sexes differ slightly 

 in the measurements of the bill. In the young bird of this species 

 the mantle is tinged with greenish-olive ; the cheeks, lunar mark 

 behind the head from eye to eye, and the centre of abdomen 

 are light yellow, and the bill, cere, and legs are straw-yellow in 

 colour, the black head, ear coverts, and throat remaining pro- 

 minent. In the adult the cere is of a sea-green colour. 



Melithrcptus mclanoccphalus (Black-capped Honey-eater). — The 

 King Island bird, again, is larger than the Tasmanian. The back 

 and head of the young bird are brownish. Only about the throat 

 and cheeks is there any appearance of the black, which in the 

 adult envelops the head as a hood ; bill brownish, cere yellow, 

 becoming on maturity light green above and deep blue below. 



Ptilotis fiavigtdaris (Yellow-throated Honey-eater). — This, the 

 only Tasmanian representative of the genus, appears to be the 

 insular form of P. Icucotis (White-eared Honey-eater). A com- 

 parison of specimens from King Island and Tasmania shows a 

 heavier tarsus from the former locality. 



Manorhina garrula (Noisy Miner). — The Tasmanian bird is 

 distinctly larger and darker than the mainland, with darker 

 cere, bill, and legs, and no prominent white tips to primaries. 



Acanthochcera inauris (Yellow Wattle-Bird). — Apart from the 

 larger build and bolder markings, the possession of yellow wattles, 

 an inch in length, makes this bird specifically different from 

 A. caruncidata of the mainland, which has red wattles .4 inch 

 long. 



Acanthochcera mellivora (Brush Wattle-Bird). — In size the Tas- 

 manian specimen is much larger than the mainland, the mantle 

 has a greenish tinge, and in the centre of the abdomen is a 

 distinct wash of yellow, which, apart from the two large Wattle- 

 Birds, is not found in any specimens of the genus from other 

 localities. 



Pardalotus affiiiis (Yellow-tipped Pardalote). — Specimens of 

 this species, which is distinguished from P. assimilis by the 

 speculum of the wing being yellow instead of red, have been 

 shot in southern Victoria, but none of the red-speculum birds 

 have been recorded from Tasmania. The outer web of the 

 third, and sometimes the fourth, primary is white; and on this 

 point can the two southern varieties be distinguished from the 

 true P . striatus of northern Victoria, which has the white edging 

 on five primaries ? 



