Vol. XIII. 



1914 



] Macgillivray, Notes on Some N. Queensland Birds. lyy 



^, juvenile, bill dark brown, gape bright yellow, otherwise similar 

 to the adult. 



They were also noted at Cape York, on the Jardine River, and 

 near Paira. In the latter locality they were feeding on the blossoms 

 of the black tea-tree. One specimen was obtained here on 27th 

 March, IQ12. 



(J, testes enlarged ; length, 4|- inches ; irides reddish-brown, bill 

 and legs black. Stomach contents, honey and portions of flowers. 



Myzomela obscura. Dusky Honey-eater. — First seen in numbers 

 at Cairns, and later on at Cape York, where they were very plentiful 

 in the mangroves, scrub, and forest. These birds vary a good deal 

 in size. One nest was found, on 14th May, 191 2, containing two 

 hard-set eggs. 



<J, testes enlarged ; irides brown, bill black, legs slate colour. 

 Stomach contents, insects. Obtained 23rd February, 1911. 



9, ovary normal ; iris light brown, bill brownish-black, legs lead 

 colour. Stomach contents, honey and small insects. Obtained on 

 27th December, iqio. 



Glyciphila fascJata. White-breasted Honey-eater. — Met with only 

 on the Gregory River, at the Brook Hotel, 20 miles from Burketown, 

 where they were found feeding in the blossoming tea-tree. 



(^, testes small ; irides light stone colour, bill brown, legs pale fleshy- 

 brown. 



Not seen at Cape York. 



Glyciphila modesta Brown-backed Honey-eater. — -A common 

 Honey-eater at Cape York, where it is mostly found in the mangrove 

 and tea-tree swamps, and in these it breeds freely from November 

 vmtil April. It is also of interest as it is usually the chosen foster- 

 parent of a Cuckoo, presumably the local variety of the Brush-Cuckoo. 

 The Cuckoo eggs found in this Honey-eater's nest are unlike 

 those of the Brush-Cuckoo from southern Australia, and are like 

 those described as the eggs of the Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo. The 

 Chestnut-breasted Cuckoo is, however, an inhabitant of the tropical 

 scrub, and not of the mangrove or tea-tree swamps, where this Honey- 

 eater nests. In these swamps, however, the Brush-Cuckoo is fairly 

 common, and no Cuckoo egg other than the one described has been 

 found there that could be attributed to this Cuckoo. 



Many nests of this Honey-eater were obtained containing a Cuckoo's 

 egg, with either one or two eggs of the parent bird. Some contained 

 two Cuckoo eggs ; others were deserted nests containing a single 

 Cuckoo egg. In one old nest a dead and decomposed young Cuckoo 

 was found, too far gone to be recognizable In one nest were found 

 two not long hatched young birds, one of which was a Cuckoo. This 

 nest Mr. M'Lennan was unable to visit again until after the young 

 one had flown. In another nest, in which a brood had been reared, 

 were the feathers of a young Cuckoo. These were gathered, but 

 were lost in a subsequent scramble through scrub. 



On one occasion a pair of G. modesta was seen chasing a Brush-Cuckoo 

 out of the swamp. 



From all this evidence one would naturally come to the conclusion 

 that the Cuckoo eggs found in the nests of G. modesta were those of 

 the Brush-Cuckoo, but it cannot be conclusively proved until the 

 hatching of a young bird from one of the eggs is watched and its 

 various stages of development noted. 



