68 Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-drant on Birds 



Iris dark brown ; bill black ; gape yellow ; feet asli-colour 

 or bluish-slate-colour. 



Ptilotis notata Gould from Cape York (type in the British 

 Museum) and its two New Guinea subspecies form a well- 

 marked group characterised by having the underparts of the 

 body indistinctly spotted or mottled. 



The larger thick-billed form of Spot-breasted Honey-eater 

 (P. n. mimikce) inhabits the lower ground and occurs from 

 sea-level up to 2500 ft., above which its place is taken by 

 the smaller slender-billed form, P. n. orientalis Meyer. 



P. notata (with its New Guinea allies here mentioned) is 

 of course a perfectly distinct species from P. analoga, and 

 Messrs. Rothschild and Hartert, by stating that ^^ Ptilotis 

 analoga orientalis is clearly a subspecies of P. analoga,^'' 

 have merely confused matters, for both P. n. mimikce and 

 P. n. orientalis occur side by side with P. analoga, and these 

 spot-breasted birds really represent a different section of the 

 genus. 



The description of this thick-billed form is as follows: — 



Adult. Most nearly allied to P. n. orientalis, from the 

 higher ground (3000-7000 ft.), and with the same mottled 

 underparts ; but larger, and with a shorter and stouter 

 bill. 



(J. Culmen 20-5 mm.; wing 82-91; tail 71. 

 ? . Cuhnen 19 mm.; wing 78-85; tail 70. 



There is a single example of this subspecies in the Tring 

 Museum from the headwaters of the Aroa River, in Southern 

 British New Guinea, in which the wing-measurement reaches 

 95 mm. This is an unusually large example, but seems to 

 differ in no way from the type. 



" This Spot-breasted Honey-eater was one of the commonest 

 birds everywhere, although not observed near ' Wakatimi. 

 It was seen both singly and in pairs in the creepers and 

 parasitic plants on the trees, in the undergrowth and on the 

 ground, diligently searching for food^ after the manner of 

 a Wren or Tree-creeper. As a rule it was yerj tame, and 

 took little notice of an intruder. 



" In company with other Honey- eaters and Sun-birds it 



