224 
The Birds of Tasmania. 
of Australia, but a considerahk- portion arc distinct species, with very 
' closely related forms upon the other side of Bass's Straits. The most 
' characteristic family of, birds which haunt the Tasmanian and Australian 
' forests is that of the Mvliphasridac or Honey-eaters, a family of Passerine 
' birds, which take the place in Australasia which is filled by the tlumniing 
' Ijirds in tropical South America. The McUphagidac include a great 
' number of genera of various size and appearance, the majority being small, 
■ Init a few, such as the peculiar Wattle-bird, being as large as a pigeon 
■ anil of a very anomalous ajipearance. They are all characterised, how- 
' ever, l)y the possession of a remarkably long tongue, ending in a pencil 
' of stiff bristles, with which the birds extract the honey from the Eucalypts 
' and other flowering shrubs that grow in such profusion in these regions. 
' Although essentially honey-eaters, practically all the species are insect- 
' ivorous as well, catching the insects which are attracted to the flowering 
■ shrubs, and 1 have frequently seen the common Tasmanian Yellow- 
' throated Honey-eater (I'tilotis f}avigula) searching the bark of the 
' Gum-trees for spiders and beetles, and hawking for flies on the wing 
" exactly after the manner of a true Flycatcher. The Yellow-throated 
" Honey-eater of Tasmania is one of the commonest birds in the forests 
" on Mount Wellington, and its rather mellow little song is not to be 
" despised in a country where the birds are notoriously unmusical. It is 
" rather a large bird, about the size of a thrush, but more slender in build 
" and with a long tail; the colour is olivaceous green, and there is a patch 
" of saffron under the chin. Two much smaller Honey-eaters with rather 
" long curved bills, almost as common as the above, are the Black- 
" headed ( Mcliphaga iiovae-liollanjiae) and the Tasmanian Honey-eater 
" (M. aiistralasiana), the latter confined to Tasmania, and distinguished 
" by its black collar. lioth have black and white plumage with yellow on 
" the wings; the Tasmanian Honey-eater is very common quite on the top 
" of Mount Wellington, and 1 have often watched them gathering the 
" honey from the Waratab.. Another peculiar Honey-eater, characterised 
" by its exceedingly long curved bill and its chocolate breast is the Spine 
"Bill (Acanthorhynchus). This bird occurs on Mount Wellington, but 
" is much commoner in the open lowland country." 
" Next to the Honey-eaters, the true Flycatchers or Miiscicapidac are 
" the best represented of the small Passerines in Australia and Tasmania, 
" and some of these are among the most beautiful small birds in the world. 
" The little Blue Wren of the colonists, Malunts loiigicaiidaliis (Gould), 
" has a wonderfully long tail, which is held erect perpendicularly above the 
" bodv ; the male has the head and shoulders of a vivid electric blue, with 
" a black collar, while the female is dull brown, with a greyish breast; but 
" in the autumn the male loses his beautiful colouring and resembles the 
" the female, reacquiring his blue cape and hood in the spring. It builds 
■' a dome-shaped nest in low shrubs, with the opening at the side, and in 
" this nest the Bronze Cuckoo frequently lays its eggs. The Wren 
" haunts clearings in the forest, and is indeed very common everywhere, 
" especially in gardens. A very closely related species M. cyancus, occurs 
