20 



IN AUSTRALIAN WILDS 



five eggs, pearly-white, and about the size of a small 

 marble, form the clutch. 



Honey-eating birds were plentiful among the 

 thickets of Hazel, Acacia and Musk trees along 

 the creek. A striking form was the Yellow-faced 



RED -TIPPED PARDALOTE 



Honey-eater [Ptilotis chry sops'}, found in South Aus- 

 tralia, Queensland and New South Wales, as well as 

 Victoria. Nests of this species, composed of pieces of 

 golden-green moss, with spiders' web and bits of bark 

 interwoven, were suspended from slender twigs, 

 generally over the water, and the eggs, salmon- 

 coloured and flecked with reddish and purple-gray, 

 looked like jewels in a casket. New Holland Honey- 

 eaters [Meliornis novte -hollandix] were fairly 

 numerous, and we found many of their nests, built low 



