796 The Sparrow-like Birds 



when poured forth by a hundred throats from various parts of the forest has 

 a most singular effect." They build a frail cup-shaped nest of fine twigs, shreds 

 of bark and cocoons, lined with rootlets and downy seeds, attaching it by the 

 rim to horizontal twigs of a bush or small tree ; the two or rarely three eggs are 

 flesh-colored, marked and spotted with several shades of brown. 



Miner; Soldier-bird. Closely related to the last, indeed often placed with 

 it, is the Miner (Myzantha garrula}, or Soldier-bird, of South Australia and Tas- 

 mania. It is a large bird for the group, being some ten inches long, and is 

 habited in grayish brown above and gray below, with a crescent of glossy black 

 about the head. It prefers the thickly timbered forests of Eucalypti, which 

 clothe the plains and low hills, where it occurs in companies of from four to 

 ten. Gould states that in disposition " it is restless, inquisitive, bold, and noisy, 

 and frequently performs the most grotesque actions, spreading out the wings 

 and tail, hanging from branches in every possible variety of position, and keep- 

 ing up all the time an incessant babbling; were this only momentary or for a 

 short time, their droll attitudes and singular note would be rather amusing than 

 otherwise; but when they follow you through the entire forest, leaping and 

 flying from branch to branch, they become rather troublesome and annoying." 



Australian Watch-bird. As an example of a Honey eater in which facial 

 wattles are a prominent feature, we may mention the Red Watch-bird (Acantho- 

 chara carunculala) of the coastal regions of South and West Australia. Between 

 fourteen and fifteen inches in length, it is distinguished by the presence of pendu- 

 lous blood-red wattles which hang on either side of the head behind the eyes, 

 the plumage being mainly grayish brown or gray, each feather with a white 

 or light shaft stripe. It is an active, generally shy and wary bird, frequenting 

 the shrubs and gum trees and usually observed in pairs flitting from tree to 

 tree or searching industriously for its food of insects, honey, and berries. The 

 males are very pugnacious, often engaging in fierce encounters. The nest, which 

 is placed at various heights above the ground, is an open, flat structure com- 

 posed of twigs and bark, and lined with softer bark, grasses, wool, and feathers; 

 the two or three eggs are salmon-pink blotched and spotted with rich reddish 

 brown. 



Australian Friar-birds. With the Friar-birds (Philemon}, of which there 

 are several species, we will close the account of this interesting family. Wear- 

 ing a coat of grayish brown with darker wings and tail and grayish under parts, 

 it has practically all of the head and neck bare of feathers, whence its ver- 

 nacular name of Friar-bird, Monk, and Leather-head, while from the fancied 

 resemblance of its notes to certain words it is called by some the Poor Soldier, 

 Pimlico, Four-o'clock, etc. It is a familiar bird in many parts of Queensland, 

 New South Wales, and Victoria, occurring both in the thick brushes near the 

 coast and in the more open forests of the interior, and often observed making 

 its way with powerful, undulating flight over the tops of the trees. " Selecting 

 the topmost dead branch of the most leafy tree whereon to perch and pour 

 forth its garrulous and singular notes, it attracts attention more by its loud 

 and extraordinary call than by its presence." It is an impudent and daring 



