316 



PASSER* 



-BIRDS. MELIPHAGID.E. 



names; such as Friar-bird, Monk, and Leatherhead 

 from the former, and Poor Soldier, Pimlico, and Four 

 o'clock, from the latter. The topmost dead branches 

 of lofty trees are usually selected by it for the exhibition 

 of its Yocal powers, and by this means it attracts more 

 than an ordinary share of attention. It is very active 

 among the branches, being able to cling in almost any 

 position; its flight also is powerful, and during the 

 breeding-season it manifests great boldness and pug- 

 nacity, driving all other birds to a distance from its 

 nest. The nest is large and rather wide, cup-shaped, 

 and composed externally of strips of bark and wool, 

 followed by fine twigs and lined with grasses and fine 

 fibres ; the eggs are usually three in number, of a pale 

 salmon colour, with minute darker specks. Mr. 

 Gould describes several other species of this genus, 

 found in different parts of Australia, but none of these 

 call for special notice here. 



THE BLUE-EYE (Entomyza cyanotis). This, which 

 is one of the largest and most beautiful species of the 

 present family, has only been met with in New South 

 Wales, where, however, it is very abundant. It 

 measures rather more than a foot in length ; the 

 plumage of the upper surface is of a golden olive 

 colour, and that of the lower surface white ; the head 

 is black, with a large brilliant blue and green spot 

 surrounding the eye, and there is a crescent-shaped 

 white mark on the back of the head ; the throat and 

 centre of the chest are also black, leaving a continuous 

 white stripe on each side. 



With regard to this species, Mr. Gould says: "I 

 have frequently seen eight or ten of these bold and 

 spirited birds, with numerous other small honey-eaters 

 and parakeets, on a single tree, displaying the most 

 elegant and easy movements, clinging and hanging in 

 every variety of position ; frequently at the extreme 

 ends of the small, thickly-flowered branches, bending 

 them down with then- weight. They may, however, be 

 easily distinguished from the other birds with which 

 they are in company, by their superior size, the 

 brilliancy of their blue face, and the contrasted colours 

 of their plumage ; they are rendered equally conspi- 

 cuous by the pugnacity with which they chase and 

 drive about the other species resorting to the same 

 tree. Mr. Gould states that this bird makes use of the 

 large dome-shaped nest of a species of Pomatorhimu, 

 laying its eggs not within the nest, but in a depression 

 on the top. 



THE BLACK HONEY-EATEB (Myzomela nigra) is a 

 widely-distributed species in the interior of Australia, 

 where it feeds partly upon the honey and pollen of 

 flowers, but principally upon insects which it captures 

 both about the flowers and on the leaves and branches 

 of the trees frequented by it It measures about four 

 inches and a half in length. The male is of a black 

 colour with the abdomen white, marked with a black 

 stripe down the centre ; the female is brown above, 

 with the lower surface brownish-white. The flight of 

 this bird is very quick, and the male has a weak 

 plaintive song. The nest is a neat cup-shaped structure 

 composed of dried grass. 



THE BED-HEADED HONEY-EATEB (Myzomela 

 erythrocephala). The male of this beautiful little 



species is blackish-brown, with the head and rump 

 scarlet ; the female is of a sober brown colour, paler 

 beneath. It is met with in the northern pails of 

 Australia, where it inhabits the mangrove-swamps 

 on the creeks and inlets of the sea. It is an active 

 chirping species. 



THE SANGUINEOUS HONEY-EATEB (Myzomela 

 sanguinolenta) is another brilliant little bird, the male 

 being scarlet, with the wings and tail black ; the female 

 is brown. This species inhabits the bushes of New 

 South Wales, and feeds on insects and the pollen of 

 flowers. 



THE TAWNY-FRONTED HONEY-EATEB (Glyciphila 

 fulvifrons). This bird is met with in all the southern 

 parts of Australia, and also in Van Diemen's Land, and 

 the islands in Bass's Straits. It measures from five 

 inches to five inches and a half in length ; the female 

 being, as usual in this family, rather smaller than her 

 partner. The back is brown, the forehead tawny, the 

 throat and abdomen white ; a blackish band runs from 

 the base of the bill down the sides of the neck, inclos- 

 ing the eye. This species inhabits stony districts, and 

 flies very rapidly, often ascending to a great height in 

 the air. Its nest is built in a bush, of a cup-like form, 

 composed of grass, and usually lined with the down of 

 the Zamia, sometimes mixed with sheep's wool and 

 other soft materials. The eggs are usually two, of a 

 white colour, commonly blotched with chestnut. The 

 food of the bird consists of the pollen of flowers and 

 insects, and its song is described by Mr. Gould as 

 commencing with a single note slowly drawn out and 

 followed by a quick repetition of double notes, uttered 

 six or eight times in succession. Several other species 

 of the genus Glyciphila are met with in Australia. 



THE PAINTED HONEY-EATEB (Entomophila pictd) 

 is a pretty little species peculiar to the interior of New 

 South Wales, where it lives amongst the trees bor- 

 dering the plains of that part of Australia. It is an 

 active bird, and frequently captures insects on the 

 whig in the manner of the Flycatchers, by dashing off 

 in pursuit of them and returning again to the same 

 perch. It is of a black colour above, with a white 

 spot behind each ear, and with the outer margins of 

 the quill feathers rich yellow ; the lower surface is 

 white, with faint brown spots on the flanks. The bill 

 is red, and the feet blackish. The length of the bird 

 is nearly six inches. 



THE LUNULATED HONEY-EATEB (Melithreptw 

 lunulatus}. This small species, which, with the fol- 

 lowing, belongs to a group distinguished from the 

 preceding Honey-eaters by the possession of a shorter 

 and more conical bill, is abundant in the south-eastern 

 districts of Australia, where it is found principally about 

 the Eucalypti and Angophorce. It measures nearly 

 five inches in length, and is of a greenish-olive colour 

 above, and pure white beneath ; the head, back of the 

 neck, and chin are black, with a naked scarlet space 

 above each eye, and a pure white crescent on the back 

 of the head. Its nest is cup- shaped and composed of 

 strips of bark mixed with wool and hair, and lined with 

 the fur of the Australian opossums; it is suspended by 

 the edge to the slender twigs of the upper parts of trees.. 

 The eggs are two in number, pale buff, speckled with 



