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THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
13. White-plumed Honey-eater Meliphaga penicillata Gould 
pcn-i-cill-a-ta — L., penicillatus , pencilled. 
Distribution. — Australia (except the Northern Territory and 
northern Queensland). 
Notes. — Also called Greenie, Linnet, Chickoowee, Ringeye, Ringneck, 
and Australian Canary. Very plentiful in forest-lands generally, also 
common in gardens. Exceptionally lively and noisy, it is constantly on 
the move among the flowers and leaves, chattering and uttering its 
powerful note “Chick-oo-wee.” Food: insects, nectar, and pollen. 
Nest . — An open, cup-shaped structure, composed of grasses bound 
together with cobwebs; lined with wool or hair. Usually suspended from 
the thin twigs of a drooping branch of a tree, mostly a eucalypt, at 
various heights from the ground. 
Eggs. — Usually three, pale pinkish-white, spotted, particularly at the 
larger end, with small markings of reddish-brown, pinkish-brown, and 
purplish-grey. Breeding-season: June to December; often as late as 
April. 
14. Yellow-plumed Honey-eater Meliphaga ornata Gould 
or-na-ta — L., ornatus, adorned. 
Distribution . — Mallee districts of Victoria, South Australia to south- 
western Australia; occasionally visits New South Wales. 
Notes. — Plentiful in open forest, mallee, and scrub-lands. Very sim- 
ilar in habits to the White-plumed Honey-eater. Food: insects, nectar, 
and pollen. 
Nest. — A neat, cup-shaped structure, composed of grasses and strips 
of bark, with no lining; some nests have thistledown and spiders’ cocoons 
on the outside. Generally placed in a small bush or tree. 
Eggs. — Usually two, salmon-pink, spotted, particularly at the larger 
end, with rich or dark reddish-brown and purplish-grey markings. Breed- 
ing-season : August to the end of November, sometimes extending to 
January. 
15. Painted Honey-eater Grantiella picta Gould 
Grant-i-el'-la — W. R. Ogilvie Grant (1863-1924), Keeper of Bird 
Department, British Museum : pic -ta — L., pictus, painted. 
Distribution. — Interior of eastern Australia; South Australia, Vic- 
toria, New South Wales, Queensland to McArthur River (Northern 
Territory). 
Notes. — Usually in pairs, frequenting the outer foliage of trees, 
chiefly eucalypts and oaks, and feeding mainly on mistletoe berries. This 
species is a medium for distributing the mistletoe plant. Call-note, a 
monotonous, see-saw whistle. 
Nest. — A rather flimsy, cup-shaped structure, composed of fine root- 
lets and the needle-shaped'leaves of the she-oak ( Casuarina ), matted and 
bound together with cobwebs. Usually suspended from, and secured to, 
