BIRDS OF THE BLOSSOMS AND OUTER FOLIAGE 
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Nest . — An open, cup-shaped structure, composed of bark, grasses, 
horse-hair, and cow-hair, neatly built, and bound with cobweb and spiders' 
egg-bags ; lined with hair or fur. Usually suspended from the drooping 
branches of a eucalypt tree. 
Eggs.- — Two or three, pale reddish-buff, spotted and finely speckled 
with reddish-brown and purplish-grey markings, confined chiefly to the 
larger end. Breeding-season : August to December. 
22. Black-headed Honey-eater Melithreptus a finis Lesson 
af-fln-is — L., a finis, allied. 
Distribution. — Tasmania and the islands of Bass Strait. 
Notes. — Usually in flocks, frequenting, chiefly, the outer foliage and 
blossoms of gum-trees; it also visits gardens and orchards, doing con- 
siderable damage to the smaller fruits. It has a short, sharp call-note, 
repeated several times. Food: insects, nectar, and cultivated fruits. 
Nest. — A rather deep, cup-shaped structure, composed of strips of 
bark, wool, and cobwebs ; warmly lined with hair, fur, and feathers. Usu- 
ally suspended from the small twigs at the end of a drooping branch of a 
eucalypt tree ; frequently built high up from the ground. 
Eggs. — Two or three, pale flesh-pink, minutely spotted and speckled 
with reddish-brown and dull purplish-grey markings, confined chiefly to 
the larger end. Breeding-season : October to the end of December. 
