174 Hardy, Notes on Mallee Flora. [vd!''xxx. 



Synonyms, &c. 

 Eriostemon sedifloius, F. v. M. = Phebalium glandulosum, Hook. 

 Acacia runciformis, A. Cunn. = Acacia lineata, A. Cunn. 

 Eucalyptus gracilis, F. v. M. = Eucalyptus calycogona, Turcz. 

 Helichrysum lucidum, Henck. -— Ilelichrysum bracteatum, Willd. 

 Styphelia Sondevi, F. v. M, = Astroloma conostephioides, F. v. M. 

 Styphelia humifusa = Astroloma humifusuni, R. Br. 

 Calycothrix, Meissn. = Calytrix, Meissn. 



Note. — Eucalyptus incrassata, var. dumosa, is accepted by the Government 

 Botanists of Victoria and New South Wales as the correct name of the plant 

 elsewhere called Eucalyptus dumosa and appearing as such on official maps of 

 Victoria. 



Honey-eater and Cuckoo.* — A cuckoo fledgeling, Cxicidm 

 inornatiis, which had fallen from a gum-tree in the garden, 

 was placed in a cage that was handy, and an attempt made 

 to feed it artificially. The most tempting pieces of worms 

 and insects pushed between the beaks failed to create an 

 appetite in the little waif, possibly because of the lack of the 

 requisite bird-like touch. In a few hours, after some im- 

 petuous chirps from the Cuckoo, a couple of White-plumed 

 Honey-eaters, Ptilotis penicillata, which had already shown 

 signs of distress when the young bird was found, made their 

 appearance. Carrying worms and insects in their beaks, the 

 little honey-eaters made several unsuccessful dashes at the 

 cage in the endeavour to enter. The young cuckoo was then 

 taken out and placed on the flat top of the cage, where it was 

 shaded by a creeper. The next moment the pair of honey- 

 eaters commenced a series of journeys to and fro, rapidly 

 consigning fresh tit-bits to the open mouth of the young 

 cuckoo, and this process lasted for about an hour at a time. 

 On the third day the cuckoo died, probably from exposure, 

 for, although there was material for warmth in the cage, the 

 nights were unseasonably cold. The boldness of the honey- 

 eaters during their self-imposed task was very striking, for a 

 camera was brought into action during the feeding process at 

 disances of 2 feet 6 inches and even i foot 6 inches. Jesse, in 

 his interesting " Gleanings in Natural History,'' states that 

 parent birds will often follow their young to the cage in which 

 they may have been placed, and there feed them with the 

 greatest constancy. The same author also notes the peculiar 

 instinct which leads the English cuckoo to choose the nest of 

 a smaller bird than itself in which to lay its e^g, presumably 

 that the fledgeling may not be overmastered when the rightful 

 owners of the nest are hatched, and further notices the per- 

 spicacity of the bird in selecting a nest of a bird with similar in- 

 sectivorous tastes. — F. Chapman. Balwyn, 12th January, 1914. 



* When reading this note the fledgeling was supposed to be a young thrush. 

 On showing a photograph of the young bird, however, to Mr. Keartland, he 

 recognized it as a Pallid Cuckoo. 



