506 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



Crown of the head and all the upper surface greyish olive ; 

 wings and tail brown, margined on their external webs with 

 greenish yellow ; lores, space round the eye and broad line 

 down the sides of the neck black ; ear-coverts pale yellow, 

 behind which is an obscure spot of greyish white ; throat and 

 under surface pale yellowish grey striated with light brown ; 

 irides dark brown ; bill black ; legs and feet greenish grey. 



Total length 7^ inches ; bill 1 ; wing 3f ; tail 3^ ; tarsi 1 . 



The female is like the male in colour, but smaller in all her 

 dimensions. 



Sp. 308. PTILOTIS VERSICOLOR, Gould. 

 Varied Honey-eater. 



Piilotis versicolor, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, part x. p. 136. 

 Meliphaga vei'sicolor. Gray, Gen. of Birds, vol. i. p. 122; Meliphaga, 

 sp. 17. 



Ptilotis versicolor, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. iv. pi. 34. 



This fine species, which is a native of the northern portion 

 of Australia, is only known to me from a specimen contained 

 in a collection from that part of the country. That its whole 

 habits and economy will hereafter be found to assimilate most 

 closely to those of the Ptilotis sonora is certain, as it is most 

 intimately alKed to that species, but may be readily distin- 

 tinguished from it by its larger size, its much longer and 

 stouter bill, by the more contrasted character of its markings, 

 and the sulphm' or wax-yellow colour which pervades the 

 breast and upper surface. It is one of the finest species yet 

 discovered of the genus to which it belongs, and is at present 

 so rare, that my own specimen is probably the only one that 

 has been brought to Europe. 



All the upper surface brownish olive, tinged with yellowish 

 olive on the margins of the feathers ; outer webs of the pri- 

 maries and tail wax-yellow ; inner webs brown ; under surface 

 of the wing and tail yellowish buff ; stripe over the eye to the 



