Vol.VIII. 



1909 



J Stray Feathers; 2IQ 



Wood-Swallows as Honey-eaters. — The following note 

 on the Artatnus family may be of interest, in view of the fact 

 that it presents two members of the genus in the role of honey- 

 eaters* In the local Botanical Gardens there are growing 

 several fine specimens of the silky oak {Grevillea robusta), and 

 these plants began to break out into their pretty golden-yellow 

 blossoms towards the end of November last. Early in Decem- 

 ber, when the handsome flowers had opened out into their full 

 glory, I was surprised and interested to note quite a number of 

 White-browed Wood-Swallows {Artatnus superciliosus) in the 

 trees, evidently in quest of some kind of food. This proved to 

 be but the advance guard of what were to follow later, for within 

 a few days the trees were swarming with the birds. Both the 

 White-browed and Masked species were there, the former largely 

 predominating ; but, strange to say, not one representative of the 

 usually plentiful A. sordidus was present. Neither were any of the 

 Honey-eaters proper inclined to dispute the right of possession 

 with the multitudinous Wood-Swallows. Lorikeets flew past, 

 but never did they alight in the silky oaks. The only other 

 birds present were a {^^^ stray members of the genus Meliornis, 

 but these were scarcely noticeable in the dense Wood-Swallow 

 assemblage. Noting at once the absence of the ubiquitous 

 Honey-eaters, I hastily jumped to the conclusion that the trees 

 were aff'ected with some insect scale pest, which would account 

 for the presence of the usually insectivorous Wood-Swallows, 

 but this idea was quickly dispelled by a little closer study of 

 the birds " at work " ; and this, by the way, was comparatively 

 easy, for the birds grew so bold in their eagerness to gratify their 

 taste for honey that they took but the scantiest notice of mere 

 human beings. It was a pretty sight to see these Swallows 

 hanging, with all the grace and agility of the Lunulated Honey- 

 eater, head downwards from a slender branch, their beautiful 

 colours — ashy-grey and black, chestnut and bluish-grey — 

 standing out in vivid contrast to the pretty golden-coloured 

 blossoms of the oak, their bills meanwhile being buried deep in 

 the alluring honey-pots. Some of these blossoms I examined, 

 and found the delicate-tinted calyx to be full, in each case, of 

 a colourless, thick, extremely sweet liquid — the attraction which 

 was responsible for the presence of such a large number of the 

 sweet-tongued Wood-Swallows. 



What serves to enhance interest in this avine visitation is the 

 fact that, although these trees have been flowering year after 

 year, we have never known the Wood-Swallows to frequent the 

 blossoms before, nor is there— as might be expected--any 

 apparent decrease in the usual abundance of insect life in the 

 district. The birds were always more plentiful in the early 



* Previously noted in The Emu by Mr. F. L. Berney, Queensland, and Miss 

 Bowie, Victoria. 



