MELIPHAOID.K. 



MI:U>S\. 



eular tree*, u are many of the ililipiutgida, can only enjoy their 

 favourite food for a comparatively abort teason, that U, while the tree 

 or plant U in blossom. They nmiit therefore either feed at other 

 tiuirn upon Muall inaecta or upon fruit. The two first habiU we have 

 ihuwu them to UOMBM ; and the last, that of devouring fruiU also, u 

 exemplified in the yellow-eared honey-sucker of Lewiu, who remarki 

 that ' in the winter aeaion theae bird* have been aeen feeding on the 

 sweet berry of the white cedar in gnat number*.' " 



Mr. Swalnson makes the MMpkagida the fint family of the tribe 

 Taaurotlrtt; and he thus characterise* these Honey-Suckers : Bill 

 the strongest in thU tribe (Trauirottra), having the mandible diatinotly 

 notched; feet large, atrong ; the hinder toe much developed; tongue 

 extensible, generally ending in a bunch of filament*. 



The following genera and sub-geuera are placed by this author 

 under the Mtl\i>l.aijid<r. 



MdiiJtaga (Lewiu). Bill moderate or short, weak : the under 

 mandible not thickened ; lateral toes unequal : the inner the shortest; 

 tail rounded or graduated ; tongue bifid : each division ending in 

 numerous filaments. (Sw.) 



Sub-genera : Ifeliphaya. 



Ex. if. boHxtta. ('Ois. Dor.,' pi. 67, and M. Auitralatiana.) 



Ptilotit (Sw.), leading to Olycifhila. 

 Ex. (' Lew. Bds.,' pL 5.) 



Zanihomiza (Sw.) 



Kx. Z. Phryyia, Shaw (' ZooL of N. H.,' pL 4, the tenuirostral 



AnlLochirra (Honfield and Vigors), the rasorial type. 

 Kx. A. carunculala. (White's ' Voyage,' pi. 6.) 



(Hycipkila (Sw.). Habit of Mdiphaya. Bill either shorter or 

 slightly longer than the head : the notch in the upper mandible far 

 removed from the tip ; tongue rather short, termiuated by numerous 

 fihtmenti ; the third and three following quills longest and nearly 

 equal ; lateral toes equal ; tail even. (Sw.) . 



Ex. G. fulrifroni. (Lewin, ' Nat Hist. Birds,' pi. 22.) 



Antltoini:a. Habit of Meliphaga. Bill rather short; tongue (?); 

 wings much rounded : all the quills more or less terminating in points ; 

 tail forked ; lateral toes equal ; the fiasiroetral type. (Sw.) 

 Ex. A. camlocepkala. (' Mus. CarL,' i., pi. 5. ) 



Leptogtoma (Sw.). Habit of Cinnyru. Bill remarkably long, 

 lender, and curved ; tongue retractile, long, bifurcated, as in Trochiliu ; 

 lateral toes unequal ; tail nearly even ; the tenuirostral type. (Sw.) 

 Ex. L. cucutlatut. ('Oia. Dor.,' pL 60.) 



J'tiloturta (Sw.). Bill much lengthened, slightly curved ; the upper 

 mandible diluted, and folding over the base of the under : the margins 

 of both inflected towards their tips ; nostrils lengthened : the aperture 

 linear; wings moderate, rounded; the first quill spurious: the four 

 next very broad at their base, and euiargiuate at the inner web; 

 lateral claws unequal ; tail very long, graduated : the middle feathers 

 lax and narrow ; the rasorisl type. (Sw.) 



Ex. P. Captnri*. (Le VaUL, ' Af.,' vi., pi. 287-288.) 



Maxorhina (Vieill.). Bill short, robust; the under mandible 

 thickened : culwen arched, and much elevated from the base, con- 

 siderably compressed its whole length; commissure curved; upper 

 mandible notched near the tip. 



Ex. M. riridit. (' 111. of Orn.,' pL 78.) 



Sub-genera: Gymophryi (Gyaawpkryit). (Sw.) 



Ex. 0. torqualtu. (Lewin, ' Nat Hist Birds,' pL 24.) 



t'iJoixanu (Sw.). 

 Kx. E. iicinctiu. 



Entomiza (Sw.). Bill strong, moderate: culmen much elevated; 

 nostrils large, naked; the aperture large, oval, and placed in the 

 middle of the bill, at the termination of the naked membrane : 

 culmen obtuse, convex; frontal feathers small, compact; hind toe 

 and claw very large, and as long as the middle toe. 

 ' Ex. . cyanotii. (Lewin, ' Nat Hut Birds,' pi. 4.) 



Pkiltdon (Cuv.). Culmen sharp, carinatcd ; head and face naked ; 

 front with an elevated protuberance ; hind toe and claw shorter than 

 the middle. 



Ex. P. eomicttlatiu. (White's 'Voyage,' pi. 16.) 



Mftomela (Horsfield and Vigors). Bill with both mandibles very 

 considerably curved : the sides broad and much compressed ; tongue 

 awl nostrils as in iftlipkaga ; wings lengthened : the third, fourth, 

 and fifth quills equal ; tail short, even ; middle toe much longer than 

 the hinder; lateral toes equal. 



Ex. M. canlinalu. (Lewin, 'Nat Hist Birds,' pi. 19.) 



Mr. Hwainson inquires whether this can be the fifth eub-genus of 

 Mtlifkaga I or an aberrant Mtlitkrtptt* I 



Mr. Vigors and Dr. Horsfield, in their ' Description of the Australian 

 Birds in the Collection of the Limit-in Society,' after remarking on 

 the then (1826) imperfect state of knowledge with regard to this 

 group, and the constant influx of new species from Australia and 

 the Australian Islands, observe that the then known species exhibited 

 five prominent modifications of form, according to the variation chiefly 

 of the characters of toe bill and tail, and that they wished to consider 

 the** types of form as sections only of the group which they name 

 provisionally the genus Mdiphaya. When the s|cics should become 

 more known, they express their opinions that the sections there 

 marked out might justly be considered genera, and the higher group be 



denominated Meliphagirta. " When thi* sub-division takes place," 

 say our authors in conclusion, " the section which stands first in our 

 text may be considered the true Meli^hlya." The Mdiphaga Aotvr 

 llullandia will form the type. It may be thus characterised : Bill 

 rather slender, subelougate ; the culuieu arched, subcultroted at the 

 base; nostril* longitudinal, linear, very narrow, covered above by a 

 membrane, and exceeding the middle of the bill in length ; tongue 

 furnished at the u| \ with many l.i i-tl. - ; wing* moderate, somewhat 

 rounded : first quill t-hort ; second, third, and fourth (which lust U 

 longest) gradually longer ; the third and fifth, the second and sixth, 

 equal : external beards (pogonia?) of the third to the seventh inclusive 

 widest in the middle ; tail subelongate, rounded ; feet rather strong ; 

 hallux subelongate, strong ; acrotarses scutellated. 



M. A'orie Ifollandiir. Mr. Caley says, " This bird U most frequently 

 met with in the trees growing in scrubs, where the different species 

 of Bantiia are found, the flowers of which, I have reason to think, 

 afford it a sustenance during winter. In the summer I have shot it 

 when sucking the flowers of Leplotprrmum Jtaretcent. In the scrubs 

 about Paramatta it is very common." 



a Xorte Holtandiir t 



The following are the sections given by Mr. Vigors and Dr. 

 Horefield : 

 * Tail rounded ; bill rather long and slender. 



it. Nova Jfollandiir, M. Auttralcuiana, and M. melanop*. 

 ** Tail rounded ; bill rather shorter, and rather strong. 



it. auricomii, M. chrytotit, and M. leucotit. 

 * Tail equal ; bill rather abort, strong. (lUdithrtptut of Vieillot ?) 



tf. chrytopt, M. lunulata, M. indalincla, and M. brtrirottra. 

 * Tail equal ; bill rather short and slender. 



M. cardinal*. 



Tail equal ; bill rather slender and longer. 

 M. tcnuiro$trii, and if. fulvifntu. 



The other genera recorded by Mr. Vigors and Dr. Horsfield are 

 Myzantha (V. and H.), Anthocturra, Tropidarhynchvt (V. and H.), 

 Sericulut (Sw.), JUimela (King), Ptophodei (V. and H.), and Pomalo- 

 rhinta (Horsf.). 



MELISSA, a reference from article HvMEXorrKRA. [MELITTA.] 

 MELISSA (from n*\uraa, a bee), a genus of Plants belonging to the 

 natural order Labialte, or Lamiacett. This genus has been variously 

 defined according to the different views of systematic botanists. 

 Bentham, in his monograph on the Labiata, has referred about 

 30 species to this genus. They are all known by the common 

 name of Balms, and some of these species are described under CALA- 

 xiiMHA. The genus thus extended has the following characters : 

 The calyx is tubular, 13-nerved, usually striated, bilabiate; the upper 

 lip generally spreading, tridentate ; the lower lip bifid ; the thni.it 

 naked or villous inside ; the tube of the corolla straight or incurvedly 

 ascending, naked inside, usually exserted ; the throat generally inflated ; 

 the limb bilabiate, the upper lip erect, flattisb, entire, or emarginate ; 

 the lower one spreading, with flat lobes, the middle lobe usually the 

 broadest, entire or emarginate ; the stamens 4, didynamous, ascending, 

 approximate by pain at apex, or rarely a little distant, lower two the 

 longest, the superior two sometimes sterile, the filaments toothless, 

 anthers free, 2-celled, the connective often thickened, the cells distinct, 

 parallel, diverging ; the lobe* of style sometimes equal, subulate with 

 minute terminal stigmas; sometimes the lower lobe is elongated, 

 recurved, flattened, with stigmatiferous margins; the achenia dry 

 and smooth. The specie* are usually herbs, sometimes under-shrubs, 

 with a variable inflorescence. 



