102 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
aleucas, and banksias, seeking insects and nectar. The male utters one 
of the liveliest songs of all our small birds, a succession of remarkably 
sweet and clear notes, often heard during the midday heat of summer 
when nearly all other species are silent. 
Nest. — A small, cup-shaped structure, composed of thin strips of 
bark and rootlets, and sometimes horse-hair; usually scantily lined with 
very fine grass and a few rootlets, and occasionally with horse-hair. Gen- 
erally suspended from a thin, forked, horizontal twig of a drooping branch 
of a tree. Favourite nesting-trees are turpentines and paper-barks. 
Efffff* lw°, rarely three, white with a faint pinkish tinge, spotted 
and speckled with dull chestnut, reddish-brown, and purplish-grey mark- 
ings, forming a zone at the larger end. Breeding-season : October to De- 
cember or January. 
7. Red-headed Honey-eater Myzomela erythrocephala Gould— 7A. 
Female 
e-ryth'-ro-cepli-al-a — Gk, erythros, red; Gk, cephale, head. 
Distribution. — Tropical northern Australia, from Derby (north- 
western Australia) to Cape York (northern Queensland) ; also occurs in 
New Guinea. 
Notes. — Usually in flocks, frequenting the mangroves and adjacent 
scrub, seeking insects and nectar from the flowers. It is very active, flit- 
ting from one cluster of flowers to another, uttering at the same time a 
rather sharp and hard chirrup. 
Nest . — Like that of the Scarlet Honey-eater, usually placed in the 
tops of the highest mangroves. 
Eggs. — Two, white, finely spotted with pale chestnut, reddish-brown, 
and purplish-grey, the markings being chiefly confined to the larger end. 
Breeding-season : October to January. 
8- Banded Honey-eater Myzomela pectoralis Gould — 8A. Female 
pec-tor-a-lis — L., pectoralis , breasted. 
Distribution. — Tropical northern Australia. 
Notes. — Appears to be nomadic. Usually in flocks, frequenting the 
flowering trees and shrubs. Food : insects and nectar. 
Nest. — A small, cup-shaped structure, composed of strips of bark 
and fine grasses, bound together with cobwebs ; lined with fine rootlets and 
grasses. Usually suspended from a fork at the extremity of a small leafy 
branch of a tree or bush. 
Eggs. — Usually two, buffy-white, becoming darker towards the larger 
end, where a band of very minute, clouded, brownish markings form an 
indistinct zone. Breeding-season : October to January and on to May 
(June). 
9. Black Honey-eater Myzomela nigra Gould — 9A. Female 
ni-gra — L., niger, black. 
Distribution. — Over the inland portions of the Australian continent. 
Notes. — Apparently nomadic. In flocks, frequenting the flowering 
