Birds of Melville Island. ]31 



up till December, when it quite left the Island. It is found 

 in the jungle and open forest^ and lives on fruit and 

 insects. 



163. Mimeta flavocincta flavocincta. Yellow Oriole. 

 Mimetes flavocinctus King, Survey Intertrop. Coasts 



Austr. 1826, p. 419 : Northern Territory. 



This species is common in the jungles and in the heavy 

 growth along the creeks as well as in the mangroves. In 

 January many nests were found usually in small Paper-bark 

 trees ; all were built of the soft outer bark of this tree. 

 One found on the 28th of October was placed at the end of 

 a thin horizontal limb about 35 feet from the ground. This 

 bird lives principally on fruit but also on insects, and is a 

 resident. 



164. Sphecotheres flaviventris ashhyi. Northern Yellow- 

 bellied Fig-Bird. 



Sphecotheres flaviventris askbyi Mathews, Nov. Zool. 

 vol. xviii. 1912, p. 436 : Alligator River, Northern Territory. 



The nest was built in a Paper-bark tree growing on the 

 edge of the great swamp — the water was about 6 inches 

 deep round the base of the tree. It was placed in a fork of 

 a horizontal limb about six feet above the water. The out- 

 side of the nest had long strips of Paper-bark (some 20 

 inches long) hanging down from it, which were attached to 

 the nest with cobwebs. The nest was cup-shaped, and 

 composed of broad strips of Paper-bark, fastened together 

 with cobwebs and cocoons and lined with fine twigs. 

 Dimensions : outside, 8 inches by 5 by 4^ deep ; inside, 

 4 by 3 by 2| deep. 



Eggs. Clutch two ; ground-colour pale stone, sparingly 

 covered with spots of yellowish bi^own and lavender. Axis 

 31'5 mm., diameter 23. Taken January 4, 1912. 



This species is common, and usually found near the 

 creeks or other places where the grow th is fairly dense, such 

 as the Paper- bark forests. On January the 28th eggs were 

 just ready to be hatched. It is a migrant. 



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