BY W. F. BLAKELY. 21 



H. P. C. Asliworth (Vict. Nat., sii., 1895, p. 51) intimates that the swallow 

 Dicaeum seems to be the exclusive agent in Australia in the dispersal of the 

 Mistletoe. 



In a letter to the "Sydney Morning Herald" dated September 26th, 1902, 

 Mr. Edward Stack attributes the dissemination of the mistletoe to the Silver- 

 eye, Zosterops eoerulescens, and the common house-sparrow, Passer domestica. 



Mr. C. F. Johncock (Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aust., xsvi., 1902, 7, et xxvii., 

 1903, p. 253) records the following birds observed by him on Lorantlms: AcantMza, 

 Yellow-rumped Tit (Does not eat the fruits but nests in the Loranth) ; Ptilotis 

 sonora, Singing Honey-eater: AcantJwchaera carunculata. Wattle Bird; Zos- 

 terops eoerulescens, Silver-eye, "A gTeat distributing agent. To this bird is 

 attributed the spread of the Loranth to the fruit trees. Coracina robusta, 

 Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike."' 



Mr. A. J. North (British Ass. Ad. Sc, 1914, N.S.W. Handbook, p. 299) 

 states that "the Family Dicaeidae, with a single representative in Australia, 

 has an important action on its flora. The Mistletoe-bird {Dicasum liirundin- 

 aceiim), generally distributed over New South Wales, feeds largely on the viscid 

 berries of the Lorantlms, which it passes entire, and thus assists in the distribu- 

 tion of this parasite." 



C. C. Brittlebank in his "Life History of Lorantlms Exocarpi," had noted 

 the Swallow Dicaeum and the Bell Magpie, Strepera versicolor, feeding on the 

 fruits of L. Exocarpi. The latter he says "feeds upon the fruits which it swal- 

 lows whole, easting the seeds." 



In the vicinity of Warrawee, near Sydnej', I watched the Dicaeum strip a 

 plant of Phrygilanthus celastroides of its ripe fruits; the ingenious way in 

 which it performed the task was not without humour. First the bird bit the 

 fruit to ascertain whether it was ripe, and if so, gave it a sharp twist dis- 

 locating it, then, turning the fruit endways in its bill, it sucked the seed from 

 the epieai-p, letting the latter fall to the ground, and then proceeded with an- 

 other in the same manner. The whole process was similar to a person drink- 

 ing out of a bottle — the pear-shaped fruits resembling little bottles. 



During the month of May, 1920, I observed the Starling's feeding upon the 

 fruits of Phrygilanthus <eucalyptif alius in the Botanic Gardens. Sydney. 



The following birds were observed by me eating the fruits of various 

 species of Lorantlms in the Hornsby district. I determined the birds from 

 Dr. J. A. Leach's "Australian Bird Book." The numbers following the names 

 are those used in the book. Mistletoe Bird, Dicaeum hirimdinaceum. No. 336; 

 Yellow Rumped Thornbill, Acanthiza chrysorrlioa. No. 293; Red-browed Finch, 

 Aegintha temporalis, No. 382; White-eye, Zosterops eoerulescens. No. 334; 

 Rufus-breasted Whistler, Pachycephala rufiventris, No. 323; White-eared Honey- 

 eater, Ptilotis leucotis, No. 358; Leatherhead, Tropidorhynchus corniculatus, No. 

 374; Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike, Coracina robusta, No. 262; Grey .Bell Magpie, 

 Strepera viersicolor, No. 394; Harmonious Thrush, Colluricincla liarmonica, No. 

 315; Little Cuckoo-Shrike, Coracina mentalis, No. 263. 



The last four swallow the fruit whole, and it passes through them in a 

 mass mixed with the wings of beetles, etc. The smaller birds usually swallow 

 the seed only; sometimes they sip at the sweet watery substance surrounding 

 the viscin before and after the seed is dislodged from the epicarp. Mr. Frog- 

 gatt. the Government Entomologist, informed me that he saw the Galah, Cacatua 

 roseieapilla, feeding upon the fruits of Lorantlms linophyllus Fenzl at Wairah, 

 N.S.W. 



