THE WHITE-EYES 365 



Rabbit Island White-eye, Z. shortridgii. Rabbit Island, W.A. Most 

 nearly allied to Z. gouldi, but differs in having the centre of the 

 breast, the belly, thighs, and nnder tail-eoverts, pale yellow; the 

 sides and flanks greyer and slightly washed with cinnamon. In 

 Z. gouldi the thighs are always white. Length 5 inches, wing 2.3, 

 tail 1.9. (Ogilvie Grant). 



C. Upper and under surfaces severally uniform. 



a. Olive-green above; bright yellow below. 4 inches. 



North and North-west Australia. The Yellow White-eye, Z. lutea. 



Balston's White-eye, Z. balstoni. — Carnarvon, N.W.A. Very similar to 

 ^. lutea, but has upper parts more greyish-olive, and the under parts, 

 especially the centre of the breast and belly, less brilliant yellow. 

 Length 4.2.5 to 4. .5 inches, wing 2.2, tail 3.6. 



b. Light ashy-brown above, washed with pale olive- 



yellow; very pale citron below. 4.2 inches. 

 Northern Territory and North Queensland. 



Gulliver's White-eye, Z. gulliveri. 



The White-eyes are attractive looking little birds, the 

 "Silver Eye" and green coat easily catching the sight. They 

 consume a great many insects, and do an immense amount of 

 good by clearing the trees of aphides in winter and early in 

 spring, but, ala,s, are so fond of fruit that they are generally the 

 first to find the ripe apricot or the reddened gooseberry, and 

 may visit the orchards and gardens in such numbers that very 

 little of the fruit reaches the rightful owners. The nests are 

 round, deep, cup-shaped and extremely light, composed of dry 

 grasses, moss and wool and neatly lined with fibres of roots and 

 grasses. They are placed among the small branches of trees 

 (often fruit trees) and bushes. The light nests are pensile, 

 "sewed by the rim to supports, otherwise swinging perfectly 

 elear, like a hammock." (Dove). The eggs are of a beautiful 

 uniform pale blue, 3 in the clutch, about .7 x .5 inch. 



Family Dicaidce. 

 Wing with nine primaries, the first of which is fully 

 developed and usually very long. Like the Sun-birds in habits, 

 but with shorter and stronger bills. The nest is in all cases, 

 whether open or concealed, an elaborate structure. Widely 

 distributed in the tropics of the Eastern Hemisphere. 



