FAUNA OF THE MONTE BELLO ISLANDS. 635 
9. ZOSTEROPS LUTEA BALSTONI, 1099. Carnarvon White-eye. 
Zosterops balstoni Grant, Ibis, 1909, p. 663. 
Specimens agree with the type of the above bird from Car- 
narvon, North-West Australia. The species is a small, dull- 
coloured form of Zosterops lutea Gould, though it would be more 
correct to look upon the type lutea as an island form of the far 
more widely distributed balstoni. It is much the most numerous 
bird inhabiting the Monte Bello Group, living upon all the 
islands, however small, where there is sufficient scrub to afford 
food and protection. It appears to be omnivorous in diet, feeding 
upon berries and seeds, and searching for insects amongst the 
foliage of the mangroves, in the vicinity of which it is always to 
be seen. 
The nesting season is probably in October. In August, the 
males were in full song, and at the end of that month a half- 
constructed nest was discovered, suspended amongst the foliage 
of a dense Druguiera, but it was not completed when I left. 
3: wing 57 mm.; culmen 9:5; tarsus 17. 
Oe =, OO Taming stare OR Mk Aen cal Liiy 
Iris brown ; bill ath feet dark brown. 
10. STIGMATOPS INDISTINCTA PERPLEXA. 1201. Allied Least 
Honey-eater. : 
The specimens agree with birds from mid-Westralia. On the 
Monte Bello Islands the species was met with exclusively in the 
larger mangrove-forests of Hermite, frequenting the densest 
parts of the Brugwiera-zone. During July and August the males 
were in full song. The song is particularly pleasing, s somewhat 
suggestive of that of the European Reed-Warbler, but more 
musical and less harsh. When singing amongst the dense and 
tangled vegetation the bird is extremely difficult to locate. 
3d: wing 69 mm.; culmen 14°5; tarsus 20. 
Oar Oormmn: af WA Oe eee OHSe 
Iris greyish brown ; bill blackish brown; feet dark brown. 
11. ANTHUS AUSTRALIS MONTEBELLI, Montebello Pipit. 
Montague, Austral Avian Record, vol. i. p. 181, 1913. 
This is a pale subspecies, in which the dark centres of all the 
feathers are much reduced, and the spotting on the breast is 
comparatively sparse. It lacks any rufous tinge. 
This is a common bird over the whole group, being perhaps 
especially abundant upon’ Trimouille. It is the only species of 
land-birds which was observed to fly from island to island over 
passages more than two hundred yards across. It was met 
with everywhere on the open country, both on the rocky hill- 
slopes and on the sandy plains. 
3: wing 89 mm.; culmen 12; tarsus 24. 
Oe CONNIE TAS Sa eis aller 18 
Iris brown ; bill black ; feet light brown. 
Proc. Zoou. Soc.—1914, No. XLIY. 44 
