514 BIRDS or AUSTRALIA. 



in the Belts of the Murray. In all these situations it evinced 

 a decided preference for the Eucalypti, among the smaller 

 branches and flowers of which it was busily engaged in 

 extracting pollen and honey from the flower-cups. The trees 

 in the Belts of the Murray and on Kangaroo Island are of a 

 dwarf character, while those of the Upper Torrens are very 

 lofty ; yet each appeared to be equally resorted to. 



I have never seen this bird from any other parts of 

 Australia than those I have mentioned ; further research may, 

 however, enable us to assign to it a much greater range of 

 habitat. It is very closely allied to the Ptilotis auricomis, 

 but may at all times be distinguished from that, as well as 

 from every other known species by the stripe of beautiful lilac- 

 coloured bare skin, which stretches from the corner of the 

 mouth and extends down the sides of the cheeks ; after death, 

 this skin becomes dry and discoloured. 



The sexes are nearly alike in plumage, and both have the 

 fleshy appendage on the cheeks, but the female is somewhat 

 smaller than the male. 



Crown of the head grey ; all the upper surface olive-green ; 

 wings and tail brown, margined with greenish yellow ; lores, 

 a large space surrounding the eye and the ear-coverts black, 

 below which is a narrow line of bright yellow ; from the gape, 

 down each side of the throat for five-eighths of an inch, a 

 naked fleshy appendage, free at the lower end, of a beautiful 

 lilac-colour and very conspicuous in the living bird ; anterior 

 to this is a tuft of bright yellow feathers ; throat and under 

 surface olive-yellow ; irides and eyelash black ; bill black ; 

 feet blackish brown tinged with olive. 



Total length 7 inches ; bill |- ; wing 2\ ; tail 3-|- ; tarsi -f. 



Although I have placed M. Cabanis's Lichenostomus occi- 

 dentalis as a synonym of this species, with which, after care- 

 fully reading his description, I believe it to be identical, I 

 shall restore his bird to the rank of a species, whenever I may 

 obtain evidence that it is really diflerent. 



