314 



PASSERF.S. BIRDS. MELIPHAGJD^E. 



although a very similar bird, which may be identical 

 with it, occurs also in New South Wales. The sexes 

 differ considerably in colouring, which is veiy unusual 

 amongst the Meliphagcs. The male has all the upper 

 surface blackish, and the lower surface white, with the 

 flanks grey ; a black stripe runs from the base of the 

 bill through the eye, and is continued along the side of 

 the head, where it is bordered above by a white streak ; 

 on each side of the neck is a broad, black, crescentiform 

 mark, the points of which nearly meet on the breast ; 

 the quill feathers of the wings and tail are margined 

 with golden yellow, and the latter are tipped with white 

 spots. The female is of a dusky brown colour, with 

 scarcely any indication of the yellow tinge on the 

 wings and tail. 



" This," says Mr. Gould, " is one of the few species 

 that enliven with their presence the almost impene- 

 trable forests that cover a great portion of Van Die- 

 men's Land, giving preference to such parts as are 

 clothed with a thick brush of dwarf shrubby trees 

 growing beneath the more lofty gums. The extreme 

 silence of these solitudes is agreeably broken by the 

 loud, shrill, and liquid notes which are poured forth in 

 quick succession by numbers of this bird in various 

 parts of the wood. It also resorts to the thick beds of 

 the Epacris imprcssa, whose red and white heath-like 

 flowers bespangle the sides of the more open hills. The 

 blossoms of this beautiful plant afford it an abundant 

 supply of food, which it seeks so intently as to admit 

 of a sufficiently close approach to enable one to observe 

 its actions without disturbing it. While thus occupied 

 it may be seen clinging to the stems in every possible 

 attitude, inserting its slender brush-like tongue up the 

 tube of every floret with amazing rapidity. Indepen- 

 dently of honey, it feeds on insects of various kinds, 

 particularly those of the orders Diptera and Hymeno- 

 ptera." "The nest," says the same distinguished 

 ornithologist, " is always placed on a low shrub within 

 a foot or two of the ground ; it is of a round, open 

 form, and is outwardly constructed of the inner rind 

 of the stringy bark of the gum-tree, generally lined 

 with fine grasses." The birds rear two or three broods 

 during the season, which lasts from September to 

 January. In the first laying the female produces two 

 eggs, whilst later in the season, when insects are more 

 abundant, three eggs are almost always found in the nest. 



THE WARTY-FACED HONEY-EATER (Xanthomyza 

 phrygia) is one of the handsomest of the smaller Aus- 

 tralian birds, its black and yellow plumage presenting 

 a remarkable contrast. The feathers of the upper 

 surface are for the most part black, margined with yel- 

 low ; those of the lower surface yellow, bordered with 

 black, and with a more or less distinct blackish mark 

 in the centre of each ; the head, neck, and throat are 

 black, with a yellow patch surrounding each eye ; this, 

 in the male is bare of feathers, and covered with warty 

 excrescences. The male is about eight inches in length, 

 and the female seven. It is not uncommon in South 

 Australia and New South Wales, inhabiting the bushes, 

 and evincing a decided partiality for the Eucalypti, the 

 honey of ^which seems to form a great portion of its 

 food, although, as Mr. Gould remarks, insects are 

 doubtless eaten by it. Its note is a loud whistle. 



THE YELLOW-EARED HONEY-EATER (Ptilotis chry- 

 sotis). This bird is between seven and eight inches in 

 length, and is of an olive-green colour, paler beneath ; 

 each eye is inclosed in a blackish patch, behind which 

 is a large oval spot of yellow ; the bill is black, with 

 the gape margined with white. It appears to be pecu- 

 liar to New South Wales, in which colony it is very 

 abundant, especially about the Hunter River, and in 

 the cedar-brushes of the hills. Low trees are its favourite 

 resort, and amongst these it frequently descends to the 

 ground in search of insects, upon which it feeds ; the 

 pollen of flowers, and occasionally fruits and berries, 

 also forming part of its diet. Its note is loud and ring- 

 ing. The nest is cup-shaped, and composed of sticks 

 and fine twigs ; the eggs are four in number, white, and 

 spotted with purplish-brown. 



THE SINGING HONEY-EATER (Ptilotis sonants), a 

 species nearly allied to the preceding, has a fine song, 

 described as resembling that of the missel- thrush. It 

 is of a greyish-olive colour, paler beneath, with dusky 

 streaks ; a black band runs through the eye, and beneath 

 it is a yellow streak ; the quill feathers of the wings 

 and tail are bordered externally with greenish-yellow. 

 The nest is suspended between two or three slender 

 twigs ; it is composed of vegetable fibres of different 

 kinds, hair, and the down of plants. Mr. Gould des- 

 cribes numerous other species of this genus, which is 

 peculiar to Australia arid New Guinea ; their habits, as 

 far as is known, are all very similar to those described 

 above. 



THE LONG -EARED WATTLE -BIRD (Anthochcera 

 inauris). This singular species, which is of large size 

 for this family, the male measuring nearly eighteen 

 inches in length, is distinguished by a pair of long, yel- 

 low and orange pendants hanging down from the ears. 

 In the male these curious appendages are about an 

 inch and three-quarters in length ; in the female they 

 are half an inch shorter. The plumage is varied with 

 blackish-brown, white, and grey, the upper surface 

 being darkest ; the head, neck, and lower surface grey, 

 streaked with black, with the exception of the centre of 

 the abdomen, which is yellow ; the tail 'is very long 

 fully eight inches in the male of a narrow wedge- 

 shape, slightly notched at the tip, where the grey cen- 

 tral feathers are narrowly tipped with white. The next 

 pair of feathers are about an inch shorter than the 

 middle ones, and each succeeding pair also diminishes 

 in about the same ratio, these being blackish-brown 

 with large white spots at the tip ; and the whole being 

 brought together on the lower surface of the tail, form 

 a series of transverse black and white bands, the latter 

 deeply notched behind. 



These birds inhabit the forests of Van Diemen's 

 Land, where they exist in great numbers ; and in the 

 neighbourhood of the Macquarrie Plains, many hun- 

 dreds are shot and sent into Hobart Town, where they 

 are highly prized for the table. In the winter they 

 become exceedingly fat, and Mr. Gould states that a 

 large cupful of oil may then be obtained from two of 

 them ; this is burnt, and gives an excellent light. The 

 food of the species consists principally of the pollen and 

 honey of the Eucalypti, although traces of insect food 

 are sometimes detected in its stomach. It is active 



