WHITE-PINIONED HONEY-KATER.— Biiiomjrn. ulhipeiinis. 



the extreme shyness and wariness of its disposition, the gunner finds considerable difficulty 

 in approaching within gunshot, so that although the bird is so common, it is not very 

 often shot. In its fliglit it is strong and steady, not contenting itself with mere flittiugs 

 from tree to tree, but on occasion launching boldly into the air, and shaj)ing its course for 

 some distant point. In taking these aerial journeys it always commences by rising 

 perpendicularly to a very great height, and then, after having settled the direction in 

 which it intends to go, it shoots off with a swift and steady flight. 



This bird may lay claim to the title of Australian clock, which has been given to the 

 laughing jackass, for no clock can be more invariable than the White-pinioned Honey- 

 eater in giving its warning note of the approach of day. Precisely one half-hour before 

 the sun rises, this bird, urged by some strange instinct, awakes from its sleep and pours 

 forth a succession of long-drawn plaintive notes that have been compared to the word 

 Peet / peet / uttered in a wailing kind of tone. But as soon as the sun lias fairly risen, 

 the melancholy cry changes into a quick, harsh, squeaking sort of cry, entirely unlike the 

 previous note, and remarkably unpleasant and grating to the ear. The bird is very fond 

 of exercising its voice, and continually utters its rough cry while it is on the wing. 



The White-pinioned Honey-eater is boldly coloured, and both sexes, when adult, 

 possess much tlie same kind of ijlumage. 



The crown of the head and nape of tlie neck are jetty black, and the skin around the 

 eye is of a lovely azure. In the young Ijird, this skin is rich orange, and forms a conspi- 

 cuous mark whereby the young and old birds may be distinguished from each other. On 

 each side of the nape is a crescent-shaped mark of snowy white, contrasting finely with 

 the black and azure of the surrounding parts. The under parts are most curiously 

 coloured. The abdomen is beautifully white, and the same tint runs towards the base of 

 the bill, but is interrupted by a black patch which commences under the chin as a narrow 

 line, and rapidly widening embraces nearly the whole of the chest, leaving a white stripe at 

 either side. The primary quill-feathers of the wing are black, with the exception of the 

 half nearest their bases, which are pure white in the inner webs, the outer web being black 

 like the remainder of the feather. The upper surface and the wings are olive-green, 

 clianging in ciu'tain lights to ochreous yellow. In size it equals a large starling. The 

 native name for it is Wur-ra-luh. 



