64 THE WOMBAT. 



•whether others have noted this distinction. Both varieties, 

 if such they be, breed from August to November. A nest 

 with two eggs was taken in the gardens on July 4th, 1SS9, 

 but of course this is exceptionally early. Still, nests may be 

 always found building in the latter part of the month. 



The White-eared Honey-eater (Ptilotis leucoiisj known 

 here as the " greenback," is a handsomer bird than the greenie, 

 and may be distinguished by the white patch on the side of 

 the head, which gives the specific name. This bird never comes 

 near the town, preferring the quietude of the bush. The first 

 time I saw it was in October, 1888, near Marcus Hill, where 

 I came across six or seven of the birds haunting a patch of 

 furze in the bush. Hard as I looked I could discover nothing 

 but old nests, and it was not till the following year that I 

 lighted on a nest with one fresh egg, in the same spot. The 

 nest is always near the ground, in an acacia hedge or furze 

 bush, or even in long grass, where I have noticed it once or 

 twice. The grass-trt.es (XartthorrJicea) at the Queenscliff 

 Road afford the bird a good nesting place, and just at the top 

 of Fenwick's Hill there is a lot of low ti-tree scrub by the 

 roadside, where one or two pairs breed every year. In 1S91 I 

 took a pair of eggs on September 5th, but October and Nov- 

 ember are the regular breeding months. The nest is deep 

 and warm, lined with horsehair and feathers matted together 

 into a strong felt. The regular clutch of eggs is two ; once, 

 however, in 1889, I took two eggs from a nest whence I had 

 removed one a month previously. The white-eared honey- 

 eater may be found in all the more thickly wooded parts of 

 the district, as at Queenscliff Road, Spring Creek, Jan Juc, 

 Anakie, and the You Yangs. It breeds wherever found, not 

 being in any sense a migratory species. The same pair of 

 birds will build within a few feet of the same spot year after 

 year. The eggs are flesh pink with a sparse sprinkling of 

 reddish spots. 



The Yellow-faced Honey-eater (Ptilotis chrysops) is found 

 all over the Geelong district, though its eggs are somewhat 

 difficult to obtain. The bird is variously known as the " fruit- 

 bird," " moss-bird," " goldeneye," etc. The name " moss- 

 bird " comes from the nest, which is very often ornamented 

 with mosses on the outside. The birds are common in 

 gardens in the town until October, when they disappear into 

 the quieter parts ; the breeding season lasts thence till 

 February. In 1890 I took a pair of eggs at Lake Connewarre 

 on the 1 2th of that month. November is the height of the 

 season, as for the majority of honey-eaters. Like the greenie, 

 the yellow-faced honey-eater builds a pensile nest, most often 

 in the projecting boughs of an acacia hedge, at an average 

 height of eight feet from the ground. At other times the nest 

 is built in mimosa scrub, or even in a briar bush, while in the 



