544 BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 



eight or twelve. It is formed of dried sticks, and lined with 

 Zamia wool, soft grasses or flowers, and sometimes with 

 sheep's wool. The egg is rather lengthened in form, being 

 one inch and two lines long by nine and a half lines broad ; 

 its ground-colour is a full reddish buff", thinly spotted and 

 marked with deep chestnut-brown and chestnut-red, some of 

 the spots and markings appearing as if beneath the surface 

 of the shell, and being most thickly disposed near the larger 

 end." 



The stomach, which is slightly muscular, is diminutive in 

 size, and the food consists of honey and insects with which 

 the young are also fed. 



The female is considerably smaller than the male, but does 

 not differ in the colouring of her plumage. 



Crown of the head, back of the neck, and upper part of the 

 back olive-brown, the feathers being darkest in the middle ; 

 lower part of the back and rump olive-brown, each feather 

 having a line of white down the stem, dilated into a spot at 

 the extremity ; upper tail-coverts olive-brown, with a crescent- 

 shaped mark of white at the tip ; primaries brown, the inner 

 webs for nearly their whole length deep chestnut ; secondaries 

 and tertiaries brown margined with grey ; two middle tail- 

 feathers greyish brown, very slightly tipped with white, the 

 remainder dark brown largely tipped with white ; feathers of 

 the sides of the neck long, narrow, pointed, and of a silvery 

 grey ; throat and fore part of the neck greyish brown, with a 

 round silvery grey spot at the extremity of each feather ; 

 feathers of the chest and under surface greyish brown, with a 

 fine line of white down the centre, dilated into an oblong spot 

 at the extremity, the white predominating on the hinder part 

 of the abdomen and under tail-coverts ; on each side of the 

 chest an oblique mark of pure white ; irides bright hazel ; bill 

 blackish brown ; feet and legs yellowish grey, the former the 

 darkest with a tinge of olive. 



Total length 12 inches ; bill If ; wing 0^ ; tail 5J ; tarsi 1|-. 



