NESTS AND EGGS OF HONEY-EATERS. 627 
PrILoTIS PLUMULA, Gould. 
“ Yellow-fronted Honey-eater.” 
Figure.—Gould, Bds. of Australia, fol., vol. iv, pl. 40. 
Reference.—Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., vol. ix, p. 245. 
Previous Descriptions of Eggs.—Gould, Bds. of Austr. (1848), 
also Hdbk., vol. I, p. 516 (1865); Diggles, Companion Gould’s 
Hdbk. (1877.) 
Geographical Distribution.—Northern Territory, North (pro- 
bably) and South Queensland, South and West Australia. 
Nest.—Cup-shaped, small, elegant; formed of dried grasses, 
lined with soft cotton-like buds of flowers, and suspended from a 
slender branch, frequently so close to the ground as to be reached 
by hand (Gould). 
Fggs.—Clutch, 2 (and probably 3); salmon colour, with a 
zone of a deeper tint at the larger end, and the whole freckled 
with minute spots of a still darker hue; ten lines (‘83 inch) long 
by seven lines (‘58 inch) broad (Gould). 
Observations.—The range of the Yellow-fronted Honey-eater 
extends more northerly than its close ally the Yellow-plumed, both 
in east and west Australia. I do not recollect seeing the bird in 
Victoria. All the specimens collected by Gilbert were from the 
York District, in Western Australia, where it inhabits the White- 
gum forests, breeding from October to January. 
PTILOTIS FLAVESCENS, Gould. 
“ Yellow Honey-eater.” 
Figure.—Gould, Bds. of Australia, fol., vol. iv, pl. 41. 
Reference.—Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., vol. ix, p. 245. 
Geographical Distribution.—North-west Australia, Northern 
Territory, and North Queensland, also New Guinea. 
Nest and Hggs.—Unknown. 
Observations.— Little is known of the habits and economy of the 
beautiful Yellow Honey-eater, which is a denizen of northern 
parts. 
Mr. G. A. Keartland, of the Calvert Exploration Expedition, 
when on the Fitzroy River, with regard to this beautiful Honey- 
_ eater, noted :—‘“ During the warm days of December and January 
these birds came to the water-trough in such numbers to drink and 
bathe as to completely line the trough. They seem to be exactly 
similar in habits to the P. penicillata (White-plumed Honey-eater), 
spending their time bathing, chasing each other, and seeking 
insects or pollen from the blossom amongst the Eucalypt foliage. 
The sexes are alike in plumage, and can only be distinguished by 
dissection. They were just building their nests when we left the 
locality, in March.” 
Ptilotis germana, Ramsay, is a sub-species of the Yellow Honey- 
eater. Vide ‘“ Catalogue Birds, British Museum,” vol. ix, p. 246. 
