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GENUS ANTOCHiERA (Vig. & Horsf.) 



/~\F this exclusively Australian genus there are two species, one of which inhabits Tasmania, and 

 the other the southern portion of Australia. 



ANTOCH^ERA INAUKIS. 



WA TILED HONE Y-EA TEN. 



JX the large, thick Eucalyptus forests of Tasmania this bird is found plentifully, generally in large 

 flocks of from twenty to sixty. It also visits the more open forests when the trees are in blossom, 

 and fi 'om these parts, particularly about the Macquarie Plains, great numbers are procured for eating 

 purposes. The flesh forms a very fine article of diet, especially in winter, when the whole body is 

 covered with a thick coating of fat. Honey, which it procures from the flowers with its long, brush- 

 like tongue, almost entirely constitutes its food ; but it sometimes also feeds on insects, generally of 

 the Coleoptera tribe. 



In size and manner of flight it much resembles the European Magpie (Pica Caudata). Its 

 cry is loud and harsh, something like that of the Pheasant. 



The nest, which is usually placed in a 'low tree — the Casuarina being frequently chosen — is 



constructed of grass and twigs, interwoven with wool. The eggs are pale salmon-colour, speckled with 



yellowish-red. They are one inch and three-eighths long by seven-eighths of an inch broad. 



• 



The crown of the head and back of the neck striped with black and grey, the centre of each 

 feather being black, and the edges grey ; back and shoulders dusky -brown, the shaft of each feather «• 

 grey ; wings, dark brown, the external edges of the primaries slightly and the secondaries broadly 

 margined with grey; the two middle tail-feathers, dark grey, the remainder blackish-brown, and all 

 broadly tipped with white, giving the under side of the tail a gradated appearance ; chin and under 

 tail-coverts, white, each feather of the latter having an arrow-shaped mark of black ; throat, breast, 

 and flanks, buffy-grey, each feather having a central mark of blackish-brown, which is much enlarged 

 on the lower part of the breast ; centre of abdomen, rich yellow ; bill, black ; feet, light flesh-colour : 

 bare skin round the ear, and upper extremity of the long pendulous wattle which hangs from below 

 the ear, white, gradually deepening into rich orange at the extremity ; irides, blackish-brown. 



Habitat : Tasmania. 



