BIRDS OF THE BRUSHES AND BIG SCRUBS 
9 
PLATE II 
BIRDS OF THE BRUSHES AND BIG SCRUBS 
1. Lewin Honey-eater Meliphaga lewini Swainson 
Mel-ipti-ag-a — Gk, meli, honey; Gk, phagein , to eat: lewini — John 
William Lewin, ornithologist and artist. 
Distribution. — Eastern Australia, from Barron River (northern 
Queensland) to Victoria. 
Notes. — Also called Yellow-eared Honey-eater and Banana-bird. 
Usually in pairs, frequenting the dense low scrubby trees ; it is a fearless 
bird, allowing one to approach quite near without showing alarm. Its 
song is a feature of the brushes, being a succession of loud, ringing notes. 
Food: insects, pollen, and nectar; also native fruits and berries and 
cultivated fruits. 
Nest. — A well-made, cup-shaped structure, composed of strips of 
bark, skeletons of leaves, moss, and spiders' egg-bags, held together with 
spiders' webs; warmly lined with dried grasses and plant down. Sus- 
pended by the rim to a thin forked horizontal limb of a thick foliaged tree, 
at heights up to 20 feet from the ground. 
Eggs. — Usually two, occasionally three, white, well spotted and 
blotched, chiefly at the larger end, with light to rich reddish-brown or 
purplish-black markings. Breeding-season: September to January. 
2. Yellow- throated Scrub-wren Sericornis lathami Stephens 
Ser-ic-orn-is — Gk, sericos, silken ; Gk, ornis, bird : lathami — Dr John 
Latham (1740-1837), English ornithologist, who published, in 1801, the 
first important work on Australian birds. 
Distribution. — Eastern Queensland to Victoria. 
Notes. — Also called Devil-bird. Usually in pairs, searching for 
insect-life on the ground, on logs, or among fallen leaves and other debris. 
It is fearless in disposition, often approaching to within a few feet of 
the observer. It utters a rich, clear call-note, and is also an excellent 
mimic, imitating the calls and songs of the other birds with which it 
associates. Food: insects and their larvae. 
Nest. — A bulky, domed structure, with a slightly hooded entrance in 
the lower portion, composed of rootlets and skeletons of leaves, inter- 
mingled with mosses; lined with feathers. Attached near the end of a 
leafy pendulous branch of a tree, often overhanging water, at heights ud 
to 20 feet or more from the ground. 
