127 



CHAPTER XII. 



PENSILE BIRDS {continued). 



Australian Pensiles — The Yellow-throated Sericornis—Iis habits — 

 Singular position for its nest — Conscious security — The Rock Warbler — 

 Shape and locality of its nest— The Singing Honey-Eater and its nest — 

 The myall or weeping acacia— Various materials — The Painted Honey- 

 eater, its habits and nest — The White-throated Honey-Eater and its 

 habits — Its curious, nest — Locality of the nest — The Swallow Dictum — 

 Its song and beauty of its plumage—The nest, its materials, form, and po5i- 

 tion — The Hammock Bird — Singular method of suspending the nest. 



Some very remarkable instances of pensile birds' nests are 

 found in Australia, and for many of them we are indebted to 

 the careful and painful research of Mr. J. Gould, from whose 

 skilful works on ornithology several illustrations have been, by 

 permission, copied. 



A very curious instance is found in 'the nest of the Yellow- 

 throated Sericornis {Sericoniis citreogularis)., a rather pretty, but 

 not a striking bird. The general colour is simple brown, and, 

 as its name imparts, the throat is of a citron-yellow. The only 

 remarkable point in the colour, beside the yellow throat, is a 

 rather large patch of black, which envelopes the eye and passes 

 down each side of the neck, nearly as far as the shoulders. It is 

 the largest of its genus, and, although not rare, is seldom seen 

 except by those who know where to look for it, as it is scarcely 

 ever observed on the wing, but remains among the thick under- 

 wood, flitting occasionally between the branches, but mostly 

 remaining on the ground, where it pecks about in search of the 

 insects on which it feeds. 



The reason for its mention in this work is the singular 

 structure of its nest, which is described by Mr. Gould in the 

 following words :- • 



