MELIPHAGIN.E. 



Phyllornis Boie.* 



Bill rather long, and more or less strong, with the culmen curved, and the sides compressed to the 

 tip, which is emarginated, acute, and sometimes hooked ; the lateral margins curved and inflexed ; the 

 gonys long, curved, or advancing upwards ; the nostrils basal, and placed in a membranous space, with 

 the opening large, exposed, and anterior. Wings moderate, with the fourth, fifth, and sixth quills equal 

 and longest. Tail moderate and slightly rounded. Tarsi very short, and covered in front with an 

 entire scale. Toes short, with the outer longer than the inner ; the hind toe long and strong : the claws 

 moderate, compressed, and acute. 



It is in the thick or lofty forests, and in the wooded cultivated ground and gardens, that the species jf this genus are 

 seen perched, in pairs or singly, on branches of a moderate height from the ground, searching both for the various fruits 

 and insects that abound on them, uttering at the same time a rather pleasing note, which is often answered by some 

 other of the same species at a distance. They occasionally dart after insects on the wing, if they approach within a 

 short distance. 



1. P. cochinchinensis (Gmel.) PI. enl. 643. f. 3., PI. col. 484. f. 

 2., Vieill. Ois. dor. t. 77, 78. — Meliphaga javensis Horsf. ; Chlo- 

 ropsis moluccensis Gray, Zool. Misc. p. 33. ? 



2. P. malabarica (Lath.) PI. col. 512. — Phyllornis icteroce- 

 phala Less. 



3. P. Sonneratii (Jard. & Selby), 111. Orn. pi. 100. — Phyllor- 

 nis Mullen Temm. ; Chloropsis gampsorhynchus Jard. 8? Selby, 

 111. Orn. pi. 7. ; Chi. zosterops Vigors <S> Horsf. ; Turdus viridis 

 Horsf. 



4. P. aurifrons Temm. PI. col. 484. f. 1. — Chloropsis malaba- 

 ricus Jard. &; Selby, 111. Orn. pi. 5. 



5. P. casmarhynchus Tick. Journ. S. A. B. ii. 579- — Chloropsis 

 aurifrons Jerd. 



6. P. cyanopogon Temm. PI. col. 312. f. 1. 



7. P. mysticalis Swains. Two Cent, and a Quart, p. 296. 



8. P. Hardwickii (Jard. & Selby). — Chloropsis curvirostris 

 Swains. ; Ch. chrysogaster Mc Clett. ; Ch. auriventris Heless. Mag. 

 de Zool. 1840. Ois. t. 17- ; Ch. cyanopterus Hodgs. 



Q. P. virens (Vieill.) Ois. dor. t. 67, 68. — Phyllornis tonga- 

 nensis Less. 



10. P. fjala (Bodd.) PI. enl. 539. f- 2. — Turdus nigerrimus 

 Gmel. ; T. saui-jala Lath. 



Tropidorhynchus Vig. §• Horsf.-\ 



Bill long, broad, and elevated at the base, and much compressed on the sides to the tip, which is 

 emarginated ; the culmen and lateral margins slightly curved, and the gonys long and nearly straight ; 

 the nostrils basal, lateral, and placed in a membranous space, with the opening anterior and exposed. 

 Wings long, with the first quill half the length of the second ; the fourth and fifth equal and longest. 

 Tail more or less long, and rounded. Tarsi robust, rather longer than the middle toe, and covered in 

 front with broad scales. Toes moderate and strong, with the outer toe longer than the inner, and 

 united at its base ; the hind toe long and very strong : the claws moderate, compressed, and curved. 



These birds are found in most parts of Australia and New Guinea. They are usually seen on the various trees ; the 

 flowers of which are searched for the purpose of extracting the pollen, and for the insects which usually frequent them 



* M. Boie established this division. Chloropsis of Sir W. Jardine and Mr. Selby is coequal. 



t It was in 1826 that Vigors and Dr. Horsfield established this genus (Linn. Trans, xv. p. 323.). It embraces Entomyzon (1825) or 

 Entomyza (1837) of Mr. Swainson, and probably Leptornis of MM. Hombron and Jacquinot, and Philemon of Vieillot (1816). 



