320 ON THE OOLOGY OF AUSTRALIA, 



I met with numerous flocks of this species last year near 

 Braidwood, traversing the bush from one blossom tree to another, 

 squabbling and fighting with almost every Soldier Bird they came 

 across, for they are rather inclined to be pugnacious, and will 

 often indulge their propensity, particularly upon the smaller 

 Honey-eaters, which manfully attack them in return. 



They are usually very plentiful in the neighbourhood of the 

 Bogan River. During my last visit to those parts I succeeded in 

 finding several nests, and was not long in procuring their eggs also. 

 As I expected, upon climbing up to the nests, I was immediately 

 attacked by not only the parent birds but also by several of their 

 feathered friends, attracted by the cries of their mates, all gallant- 

 ly keeping up the attack until T had reached the ground again, 

 snapping their bills so close to my face that I stood no small chance 

 of having my ears pecked off, and always flying at me from behind. 



The nest is a neat cup-shaped structure composed of stringy 

 bark, and lined with finer shreds of the same material. It is 2^ 

 inches across inside, by 1J inch deep, and placed between the 

 upright forks of some tall sapling, or upon a horizontal bough. 

 They breed during November and December, or perhaps earlier 

 in some localities, and lay two or three eggs 10 to 11 J lines long, 

 by 8J to 9 lines in breadth. These, when freshly taken, are cer- 

 tainly among the most beautiful I have ever met with ; but 

 unfortunately, as in most bird's eggs, the bloom goes off, and 

 the bright tint soon fades. 



From my note book, I find that when first taken from the nest 

 they are of a deep saturnine buff, spotted with irregular markings 

 of a deeper hue, in some, evenly distributed over their surface, in 

 others, more crowded at the larger end ; there are also a few indis- 

 tinct dots of greyish lilac dispersed over the surface ; but these 

 lilac dots are not visible in all specimens. I have one, however, 

 in which greyish lilac spots predominate. The specimen from 

 which the figure on our plate (PI. I., Fig. 3) has been taken, is the 

 largest and finest of its species that I have ever seen : all, however, 

 are not of this form, some being more lengthened and less rounded. 



This species of Honey- eater was one of the first known, and 

 was described under various names, and placed in several genera 

 by as many different authors ; but as its habits and economy 



