238 INSEGTIVORdUS BIRDS 



RED-WATTLE BIRD 



(Wattle-bird), 



Acanthochaera caruiiculata, Lath. 



A-han-tho-ke rd kd-rung-ku-la' td. 

 Akantha, a spine (a thorn) ; chaera, representing a genus of perch- 

 ing birds (Passeres) ; carimcula, a fleshy excrescence. 



Anthoch^ra carunculata, Gould, "Birds of Australia," fol., 

 vol. iv., pi. 55. 



Geographical Distribution. — Areas 3, 4, 6, 7, 9. 



Key to the Species. — A long greyish bird, with longitudinal white 

 marks upon the plumage ; wattles i-inch long and blood-red ; 

 tail graduated, as long as wing (about 6 inches) ; bill same 

 length as head ; nostrils longitudinal and operculated. 



The Red-wattle Bird, or Wattled Honey-eater, is a sale 

 bird at our poulterers in and out of season. In Tas- 

 mania there is a close ally, and as its wattles are twice 

 the length — i.e., one inch, or half an inch longer than the 

 Victorian species — the adult birds are quickly recognized 

 irrespective of wattle colouration. There are two other so- 

 called Wattle-birds, the Brush and the Lunulated. As 

 they bear no wattles the differences in this respect are 

 sound. The present species has a wide vocabulary, from an 

 unpleasant guttural noise to one pleasant to a limited de- 

 gree. When the young begin to call there is little to choose 

 between that of the practised larynx and the one under- 

 going the tediousness of a lesson. The length of the youthful 

 bird as it leaves the nest is nine inches, while that of the 

 parent is fifteen, and the difference will give anyone 

 critically inclined in the study of music an opportunity to 

 further investigate. As the tail grows there are variations 

 in the general plumage, being light brown in the young 

 where the adult shows a tendency to white. On the 16th 



