342 BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF GEELONG 
YELLOW-TUFTED HONEYEATER 
Lophoptilotis melanops meltoni 
It is remarkable that, however great the similarity of 
birds of the same family to each other in general 
habits, one finds that their notes are invariably quite 
distinct — a circumstance the knowledge of which 
has led me to the discovery of more than one new 
species for the district. So it was that on August i8th, 
191 2, as Messrs. Purnell and Riordan and myself were 
driving along the Barrabool Hills Road near Gnar- 
warre, the strange piping note of a bird which flew 
very like the White-eared Honeyeater pulled us up 
sharp; for even the White-eared species would be 
rather out of its beat on those windy hills. It turned 
out to be the first recorded Yellow-tufted Honey- 
eater from this district. 
They are said to occur at Melton, but, so far as I 
know, are not found elsewhere south of the Divide, 
and the bird we saw was evidently a stranger, for 
it flew constantly from tree to tree towards the west, 
keeping high in the air. Another bird, which I 
believe to have been of this species, we saw about 
two miles west of Torquay, in lightly timbered 
country, at Easter, 191 3. This bird may be known 
by its bright yellow throat and tuft of rich yellow 
feathers behind the ear. 
