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THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
7. Yellow-fronted Honey-eater Meliphaga plumula Gould 
plu -mu-la — L., plumula , small feather. 
Distribution. — Interior of Australia, ranging from north-western Aus- 
tralia to eastern-central Queensland and South Australia. 
Notes. — Also called Plumed Honey-eater. Fairly plentiful in forest 
country, inhabiting the tall eucalypts and feeding among the blossoms and 
leaves. Very similar in habits to the White-plumed Honey-eater. Food: 
insects and nectar. 
Nest. — A small, cup-shaped structure, composed chiefly of dry grasses, 
wool, and spiders’ egg-bags ; lined with wool and horse-hair ; suspended 
from the branches of a bush or tree. 
Eggs. — Usually two, pale salmon, marked at the larger end with 
minute spots of very pale reddish-brown, which form an irregular zone. 
Breeding-season: August to December or January. 
8. Grey-headed Honey-eater Meliphaga keartlandi North 
keartlandi — G. A. Heartland, Australian collector. 
Distribution. — Central Australia, ranging to the coast in mid-western 
and north-western Australia and northwards to the Gulf of Carpentaria. 
Notes. — Also called Heartland’s Honey-eater. Usually in pairs or 
small flocks, frequenting stunted eucalypts and scrub. Food: insects and 
nectar. 
Nest. — A small, cup-shaped structure, composed of dried grass-stems 
matted together with silky plant down; lined with the latter material. 
Frequently suspended from near the extremity of a small leafy branch of 
a tree, at heights up to 15 feet from the ground. 
Eggs. — Usually two, pale fleshy-buff, marked, chiefly about the larger 
end, with spots of dull reddish-brown. Breeding-season : July to Novem- 
ber; May and June; or after rain. 
9. Fuscous Honey-eater Meliphaga fusca Gould 
fus-ca — L., fuscus, brown. 
Distribution. — Eastern Australia, from Queensland to South 
Australia. 
Notes. — Mostly in small flocks, frequenting alike open forest and 
scrub-lands. Food: insects, procured among the blossoms and leaves 
and occasionally on the wing; also nectar. 
Nest. — A neat, cup-shaped structure, composed chiefly of strips of 
bark, bound and matted together with cobwebs and plant down ; lined with 
hair, fine rootlets, grass, and often with wool or plant down. Usually 
suspended from the thin branches of a tree or bush, at heights up to 20 
feet or more from the ground. 
Eggs. — Two or three, rich salmon, sometimes spotted, particularly 
at the larger end, with reddish-brown and purplish-brown markings. 
Breeding-season : July to December. 
