•SI THE LORjlNTHACEAE OP AUSTRALIA, 1., 



At Bowan Park, along Oakey Creek, 20 miles S.W. of Orange, N.S.W., I 

 noticed the following birds feeding upon the fruits of L. No. 15, — Mistletoe 

 bird, Dicaeum hirundinaeeum; Golden-rumped Diamond-bird, Pardalotus xan- 

 thopy gilts; Silver eye, Zosterops coerulescens; Soldier-bird, Myzantha garrula; 

 Leatherhead, Tropidorliynclnus corniculatus; Eosella, Platycercus eximius; GalaJi, 

 Cacatua roseicapilla; Cockatoo-Parrot, Calopsittacus novae-hollandiae. 



The small birds are the greatest disseminators of Loranthus, as in a large 

 number of cases when they feed upon the fruits, they do not swallow the seed, 

 but as before stated, sip the sweet fluid surrounding it, and in many eases the 

 seed sticks to the bird's bill, and is displaced by wiping it on the most con- 

 venient object. Sometimes the seed is not easily dislodged. I have seen the 

 Mistletoe-bird and the Silver-eye make many attempts before they succeeded; 

 thus the seed is occasionally carried long distances before it is disposed of. With 

 the large birds, the fruits being swallowed whole, the seeds and epicarps are 

 passed in a hard mass, consequently the only chance the seeds have of ger- 

 minating is when they happen to fall in the fork of a tree, — a rare occurrence. 



The percentage of seeds sticking to the bill of the large birds is exceedingly 

 small. An example of seed distribution of this family was noted by me in the 

 case of specimens of Loranthus Miquelii, collected at Brooklyn, Hawkesbury 

 River, which contained seeds of L. vitellinus and Phrygilanthus euealyptif alius. 

 The former was plentiful on Angophora laneeolata about fifty yards away, 

 while adult plants of the latter were half a mile away. On another occasion, 

 while examining a large clump of P. euealyptifoliiis near Ascjuith, Hornsby dis- 

 trict, I noticed a little clump of seeds of Pliriiijiliiiithus and Notothixos that 

 had been deposited by a bird, one seed of Plirf/iiildiitluis and two seeds of 

 Notothixos subaureus were just commencing to germinate. After a diligent 

 search extending over two hours I failed to find any plants of Notothixos in 

 the vicinity. The nearest plant known to me was more than a mile away. 



The Flying Fox, Pteropiis rubicoUis, is another agent of distribution of 

 these parasites. Towards the end of April of 1920, a large number of these 

 animals paid several visits to the Botanic Gardens, Sydney, and I noticed that 

 beneath a large tree of Eucalyptus melanophloia which was frequented by them, 

 and which was infested with Phrygilanthus eucalypti follus the ground was 

 strewn with the castings of small clumps of seeds and epicarps of the parasite. 

 In some cases the fruits appeared as if they were partly chewed, and the seed 

 sucked off the sweet coating. It is reasonable to assume that a number of seeds 

 adhere to these animals when feeding upon the fruits of the parasites, and, 

 presumal)ly, the result is an accidental distribution of the parasites by them. 



List of Bird Disseminators. 



Acanthiza chrysorrhoa, Yellow-rumped Thornbill. 

 Acantho-ehaera carunculata, Wattle Bird. 

 Aegintha temporalis, Red-browed Finch. 

 Cacatua roseicapilla, Galah. 



Calopsittacus novae-hollandiae, Cockatoo-Parrot. 

 Collurioincla harmonica, Harmonious Thrush. 

 Coracina mientalis, Little Cuckoo Shrike. 

 Goracina rohusta, Black-faced Cuckoo Shrike. 

 Dicaeum hirundinaeeum, Mistletoe Bird. 

 Gliciphila melanops, Tawny-crowned Honey-eatei'. 

 Myzantha garrula, Soldier Bird. 



