BIRDS OF THE BLOSSOMS AND OUTER FOLIAGE 
99 
21. Yellow-tufted Honey-eater Meliphaga melanops Latham 
mel'-an-ops — Gk, melas ( melanos ), black; Gk, ops , face. 
Distribution. — Southern Queensland to Victoria. 
Notes. — Also called Whisky and Yellow Whisker. Usually in flocks, 
frequenting all classes of country from the scrub-lands near the coast to 
the flowering eucalypts of the inland plains. Its call-note, “Cheop, cheop,” 
is uttered while feeding or when flying from tree to tree. Food : insects, 
native fruits, and berries. 
Nest. — A cup-shaped structure, composed of strips of bark and 
grasses, usually decorated with cobwebs and spiders’ egg-bags; lined with 
hair, fur, or plant down. Generally suspended from the branch of a bush 
or low shrub. 
Eggs. — Two or three, pinkish-buff, freely spotted with dark reddish- 
brown and purplish-grey markings. Breeding-season : June to December. 
