VII 



MELIPHAGIDAE 



567 



of the insects which constitute so much of their diet, they occa- 

 sionally feed upon the ground especially in the case of Ptilotis ; 

 while Meliornis and UntoynojMla will dart after their prey like 

 Flycatchers. Figs and bananas, with other fruits and buds, are 

 also eaten ; honey is sucked from the flowers of Eucalyptus, Acacia, 

 Ujxfcris, aiid the like, in considerable quantities, the insects it attracts 

 being perhaps the chief object ; and Philemon batters large insects 

 upon the branches before swallowing them. The voice is commonly 

 loud, rich, and shrill, but varies from a whistle or a pipe to a chirp ; 

 some species, however, are more quiet, others give vent to slow, 

 plaintive cries, 



quickly reiterated 

 notes, or compara- 

 ti^'ely harsh sounds. 

 The Tui, or Par son - 

 bird, utters a wild 

 song, laughs, 

 coughs, sneezes, 

 and mimics gener- 

 ally : Acrulocercus 

 gets the name of 

 0-0 from its harsh 

 double call ; Pogo- 

 nornis that of 

 Stitch-bird from 

 its clicking cry, 

 though it also 

 whistles ; while 

 Pliilemon cornicu- 

 latus is sometimes 



Fig. 135. Tui. 



Prosthemadera novae zealandiae. x J. 



called " Four -o'clock," "Poor Soldier," or 

 "Pimlico," from its note. Anthornis, the New Zealand "Bell- 

 bird," usually heard in chorus, has a voice like the tinkling of a 

 silver bell.^ The nest, normally a slight structure of tv/igs, roots, 

 bark, grass, and spiders' webs, lined with woolly materials, fur, or 

 feathers, is placed in bushes, trees, or even tall grass, and generally 

 has the rim woven over a supporting fork. A few species, how- 

 ever, including the New Zealand forms, Pogonornis, Anthornis, and 

 Prosthemadera, build a solid fabric of twigs and rough materials 



^ Oreoeca cristata (Laniidae) and Manorliina melanophrys (Melipliagidae) are the 

 Bell-birds of Australia ; Chasmorhynchus (Cotingidae) of the Neotropical Region. 



