314 
Passeres.- 
-BIRDS.- 
-Meliphagij)^ 
although a very similar bird, which may be identical 
with it, occurs also in New South Wales. The sexes 
differ considerably in colouring, wliich is very unusual 
amongst the Melipliaga. The male has all the upper 
surface blackish, and the lower surface white, with tlie 
flanks grey ; a black stripe runs from the base of the 
bill through the eye, and is continued along the side of 
the head, where it is bordered above by a white streak ; 
on each side of the neck is a broad, black, crescentiform 
mark, the points of which nearly meet on the breast ; 
the quill feathers of the wings and tail are margined 
with golden yellow, and the latter are tipped with white 
spots. The female is of a dusky brown colour, with 
scarcely any indication of the yellow tinge on the 
wings and tail. 
“ This,” says Mr. Gould, “ is one of the few species 
that enliven with their presence the almost impene- 
trable forests that cover a great portion of Van Die- 
men’s Land, giving preference to such parts as are 
clothed with a thick brush of dwarf shrubby trees 
growing beneath the more lofty gums. The extreme 
silence of these solitudes is agreeably broken by tbe 
loud, shrill, and liquid notes which are poured forth in 
quick succession by numbers of this bird in various 
parts of the wood. It also resorts to the thick beds of 
tbe Epacris imprcssa, whose red and white heath-like 
flowers bespangle the sides of the more open hills. The 
blossoms of this beautiful plant afford it an abundant 
supply of food, which it seeks so intently as to admit 
of a sufficiently close approach to enable one to observe 
its actions without disturbing it. While thus occupied 
it may be seen clinging to the stems in every possible 
attitude, inserting its slender brush-like tongue up the 
tube of every floret with amazing rapidity. Indepen- 
dently of honey, it feeds on insects of various kinds, 
particularly those of the orders Diptera and Hymeno- 
ptcra." “ The nest,” says the same distinguished 
ornithologist, “ is always placed on a low shrub within 
a foot or two of the ground ; it is of a round, open 
form, and is outwardly constructed of the inner rind 
of the stringy bark of the gum-tree, generally lined 
with fine grasses.” fl’he birds rear two or three broods 
during the season, which lasts from September to 
January. In the first laying the female produces two 
eggs, whilst later in the season, when insects are more 
abundant, three eggsare almost always found in the nest. 
THE WARTY-FACED HONEY-EATER {Xanthomyza 
phryyia) is one of the handsomest of the smaller Aus- 
tralian birds, its black and yellow plumage presenting 
a remarkable contrast. The feathers of the upper 
surface are for the most part black, margined with yel- 
low ; those of the lower surface yellow, bordered with 
black, and with a more or less distinct blackish mark 
in the centre of each ; the head, neck, and throat are- 
black, with a yellow patch surrounding each eye ; this, 
in the male is bare of feathers, and covered with warty 
excrescences. The male is about eight inches in length, 
and the female seven. It is not uncommon in South 
Australia and New South Wales, inhabiting the bushes, 
and evincing a decided partiality for the Eucalypti, the 
honey of which seems to form a great portion of its 
food, although, as Mr. Gould remarks, insects are 
doubtless eaten by it. Its note is a loud whistle. 
THE YELLOW-EARED HONEY-EATER {Ptilotis chry- 
sotis). This bird is between seven and eight inches in 
length, and is of an olive-green colour, paler beneath ; 
each eye is inclosed in a blackish patch, behind which 
is a large oval spot of yellow ; the bill is black, with 
the gape margined with white. It appears to be pecu- 
liar to New South Wales, in which colony it is very 
abundant, especially about the Hunter River, and in 
the cedar-brushes of the hills. Low trees are its favourite 
resort, and amongst these it frequently descends to the 
ground in search of insects, upon which it feeds ; the 
pollen of flowers, and occasionally fruits and berries, 
also forming part of its diet. Its note is loud and ring- 
ing. The nest is cup-shaped, and composed of sticks 
and fine twigs ; the eggs are four in number, white, ami 
spotted with purplish-brown. 
THE SINGING HONEY-EATER [Ptilotis sovorus), a 
species nearly allied to the preceding, has a fine song, 
described as resembling that of the missel-thrush. It 
is of a greyish-olive colour, paler beneath, with dusky 
streaks ; a black band runs through the eye, and beneath 
it is a yellow streak ; the quill feathers of the wings 
and tail are bordered externally with greenish-yellow. 
The nest is suspended between two or three slender 
twigs ; it is composed of vegetable fibres of different 
kinds, hair, and the down of plants. Mr. Gould des- 
cribes numerous other species of this genus, which is 
peculiar to Australia and New Guinea ; their habits, as 
far as is known, are all very similar to those described 
above. 
THE LONG -EARED WATTLE -BIRD {Anthochcera 
inauris). This singular species, which is of large size 
for this family, the male measuring nearly eighteen 
inches' in length, is distinguished by a pair of long, yel- 
low and orange pendants hanging down from the ears. 
In the male these curious appendages are about an 
inch and three-quarters in length ; in the female they 
are half an inch shorter. The plumage is varied with 
blackish-brown, white, and grey, the upper surface 
being darkest ; the head, neck, and lower surface grey, 
streaked with black, with the exception of the centre of 
the abdomen, which is yellow ; the tail is very long — 
fully eight inches in the male — of a narrow wedge- 
shape, slightly notched at the tip, where the grey cen- 
tral feathers are narrowly tipped with white. The next 
pair of feathers are about an inch shorter than the 
middle ones, and each succeeding pair also diminishes 
in about the same ratio, these being blackish-brown 
with large white spots at the tip ; and the whole being 
brought together on the lower surface of the tail, form 
a series of transverse black and white bands, the latter 
deeply notched behind. 
These birds inhabit the forests of Van Diemen’s 
Land, where they exist in great numbers ; and in the 
neighbourhood of the Macquarrie Plains, many hun- 
dreds are shot and sent into Hobart Town, where they 
are highly prized for the table. In the winter they 
become exceedingly fat, and Mr. Gould states that a 
large cupful of oil may then be obtained from two of 
them ; this is burnt, and gives an excellent light. The 
food of the species consists principally of the pollen and 
honey of the Eucalypti, although traces of insect food 
are sometimes detected in its stomach. It is active 
