■16 LORIID.T!, 



There is a variation in the winfj-measurenient of specimens obtained in the coastal districts 

 ot North-eastern and South-eastern (Queensland, and as so frequently occurs in other species, 

 tlio further north the specimens are procured, so are they smaller. The wing-measurement of 

 adult males procured at Cairns, by Messrs. M. J. Cairn and l\obt. Grant, on behalf of the 

 Trustees of the Australian Museum, is 4-.S inches; that of an adult male obtained by Mr. 

 <jeorge Masters at Maryborough, Wide Bay, in South-eastern (Uieensland, is yij inches. 

 Abnormal colouring is also common in the plumage of this species. I'requently examples are 

 found with some of tile feathers of the interscapular region more or less washed with crimson, 

 or scattered spots of this colour on the breast. One specimen in the Australian Museum 

 Collection has the bases of all the feathers of the interscapular region, lh(; throat and breast 

 more or less washed with crimson. 



(iould's remarks, " that on suspending a fresh shot specimen by the toes a large tea spoonful 

 of liquid honey will How from the mouth," is applicable also to Ti'iLlioglossns uovic-Iinllandice, 

 Glossi'psitliJiiii tiiiuiiiiiiis, O. pii^ilhi^, and undoubtedly all members of the family f^oriid.e. I 

 have never measured the quantity, but my experience with these species inhabiting South-eastern 

 Australia, is that the nectar is disgorged and the feathers soiled if the bird is only wounded ; if 

 dead it is advisable to let it drip from the bird, as it hangs head downwards, before placing it 

 away in paper. 



At Copmanhurst, on the Upper Clarence Kiver, this species breeds principally in the 

 standing rung timber, resorting to a spout or hollow branch, and depositing its eggs, two in 

 number, on the decaying wood or dust found in these cavities, the nesting places I saw 

 averaging from twenty to sixty feet from the ground. It is remarkable that a large number 

 of nesting places of this species, first found by Mr. II. (ireensill ISarnard, at Coomooboolaroo, 

 Duaringa, Queensland, contained far more frequently a single egg for a sitting than they did 

 two, the almost invariable number found on the L'pper Clarence Kiver, New South Wales, for 

 a sitting, and where, too, as a rule, the breeding season is nmch earlier. 



From FJimbi, Duaringa, (Queensland, Mr. H. d. Barnard writes me : — •• 'friiiiof^ltissus 

 chhiiuilcpidolus almost invariably breeds when the Swamp tiums (Euialvptiii) are in flower. In 

 1907 they bred plentifully ; the following are the dates of three sets taken in that year — 27th 

 July, 3rd and 6th August. In 190S, owing to the great amount of rain in March, the (jums 

 flowered earlier than usual, and on my return from a trip to Brisbane, I examined several nests 

 in the early part of ;\ugust, but found only young birds. The weather had then set in dry, and 

 breeding stopped. In a good season I have taken fresh eggs up till the end of November. 

 These birds breed in the holes in the limbs of the Gum trees, generally selecting a place from 

 which a thin dead branch has fallen, and chip away the decayed wood till they reach the hollow 

 in the centre of the limb ; the eggs, two in number, are placed on the soft decayed wood at the 

 bottom of the hole, which is usually about a foot from the entrance. A pair which I had 

 under observation close to the house, were six weeks eating their way into a limb, until llie eggs, 

 two in number, were deposited. The nesting places are generally very high, the heights of the 

 three nests taken being sixty-nine feet, seventy-two feet and seventy-seven feet." 



Mr. George Savidge sends me the following notes from Copmanhurst, New South W.ales: — 

 " The Scaly-breasted Lorikeet is plentifully dispersed all through the Clarence River District, 

 and it prefers the cultivated fields and open flat country. The nesting season usually commences 

 the first week in June, and continues till the end of I-'ebruary, the earliest set taken by me was 

 on the 23rd May. By the third week in June all have eggs or young birds; the nest is 

 placed in a hole or the bole of a tree, sometimes as far as six feet from the entrance, and the 

 height from the ground varies from nine to sixty feet. Two eggs are always laid for a sitting ; 

 upon one occasion only did we find three ; several broods are reared each season. In suitable 

 places it is still numerous, but their numbers in this locality are decreasing. In the autumn it 



