INSESSORES. 559 



It breeds during the months of October and November, and 

 lays two eggs," which are of a Hght brownish buff, encircled 

 at the centre with a band of brown, produced by numerous 

 small blotches of that colom-, which appear as if beneath the 

 surface of the shell ; they are seven lines long by five and a 

 half lines broad. 



The male has the head, throat, stripe down the centre of the 

 abdomen, all the upper surface, wings, and tail sooty black ; 

 the remainder of the plumage pure white ; irides blackish 

 brown ; bill and feet black. 



Total length 5 inches ; bill f ; wing 2^ ; tail If ; tarsi ^. 



The female differs in having the head, all the upper surface, 

 wings, and tail brown ; throat and all the under surface 

 brownish white, the centre of each feather being the darkest ; 

 bill brown ; legs brownish black. 



Sp. 345. MYZOMELA OBSCURA, Gould. 



Obscure Honey-eater. 

 Myzomela obscura, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc, part x. p. 136. 



Myzomela obscura, Gould, Birds of Australia, fol., vol. iv. pi. 67. 



This species is a native of the northern parts of Australia. 

 AtPortEssington, where my specimens were procured, it is only 

 to be met with in quiet, secluded and thickly-wooded districts, 

 adjacent to small streams of water ; its favourite tree appears 

 to be the Grevillia, from the blossoms of which it obtains great 

 quantities of honey and insects. The shy and retiring dispo- 

 sition of this species renders the acquisition of specimens very 

 difficult : " at no time during my stay," remarks Gilbert, 

 " did I succeed in getting sight of more than a solitary indi- 

 vidual at a time, and I believe it to be a rare bird in all parts 

 of the Cobourg Peninsula." 



This bird differs so much in colour from all the other species 

 yet discovered, that it is readily distinguished from all of them." 



