316 Passeres. BIRDS. Meliphagid^. 
names; such as Friar-bird, Monk, and Leatherhead 
from the former, and Poor Soldier, Pimlico, and Four 
o’clock, from the latter. The topmost dead branehes 
of lofty trees are usually selected by it for the exhibition 
of its vocal powers, and by this means it attracts more 
than an ordinary share of attention. It is very active 
among the branches, being able to cling in almost any 
position; its flight also is powerful, and during the 
breeding-season it manifests great boldness and pug- 
nacity, driving all other birds to a distance from its 
nest. The nest is large and I'ather wide, cup-shaped, 
and composed externally of strips of bark and wool, 
followed by fine twigs and lined with grasses and fine 
fibres ; the eggs are usually three in number, of a pale 
salmon colour, with minute darker specks. Mr. 
Gould describes several other species of this genus, 
found in different parts of i^ ustralia, but none of these 
call for special notice here. 
THE BLUE-EYE {Entomyza cyanotis). This, which 
is one of the largest and most beautiful species of the 
present family, has only been met with in New South 
Wales, where, however, it is very abundant. It 
measures rather more than a foot in length ; the 
plumage of the upper surface is of a golden olive 
colour, and that of the lower surface white ; the head 
is black, with a large brilliant blue and green spot 
surrounding the eye, and there is a crescent-shaped 
white mark on the back of the head ; the throat and 
centre of the chept are also black, leaving a continuous 
white stripe on each side. 
With regard to this species, Mr. Gould says : “ I 
have frequently seen eight or, ten of these bold and 
spirited birds, with numerous other small honey-eaters 
and parakeets, on a single tree, displaying the most 
elegant and easy movements, clinging and hanging in 
every variety of position ; frequently at the extreme 
ends of the small, thickly-flowered branches, bending 
them down with their weight. They may, however, be 
easily distinguished from the other birds with which 
they are in company, by their superior size, the 
brilliancy of their blue face, and the contrasted colours 
of their plumage ; they are rendered equally conspi- 
cuous by the pugnacity with which they chase and 
drive about the other species resorting to the same 
tree. Mr. Gould states that this bird makes use of the 
large dome-shaped nest of a species of Pomatorhinus, 
laying its eggs not within the nest, but in a depression 
on the top. 
THE BLACK HONEY-EATER (^Myzomela nigra) is a 
widely-distributed species in the interior of Australia, 
where it feeds partly upon the honey and pollen of 
flowers, but principally upon insects which it captures 
both about the flowers and on the leaves and branches 
of the trees frequented by it. It measures about four 
inches and a half in length. The male is of a black 
colour with the abdomen white, marked with a black 
stripe down the centre ; the female is brown above, 
with the lower surface brownish- white. The flight of 
this bird is very quick, and the male has a weak 
plaintive song. The nest is a neat cup-shaped structure 
composed of dried grass. 
THE RED-HEADED HONEY-EATER {Myzomela 
erythrocephala). The male of this beautiful little 
speeies is blackish-brown, with the head and rump 
scarlet ; the female is of a sober brown colour, paler 
beneath. It is met with in the northern parts of 
Australia, where it inhabits the mangrove-swamps 
on the creeks and inlets of the sea. It is an active 
chirping species. 
THE SANGUINEOUS HONEY-EATER {Myzomela 
sanguinolenta) is another brilliant little bird, the male 
being scarlet, with the wings and tail black ; the female 
is brown. This species inhabits the bushes of New 
South Wales, and feeds on insects and the pollen of 
flowers. 
THE TAWNY-FRONTED HONEY-EATER {Glyciphila 
fulvifrons). This bird is met with in all the southern 
parts of Australia, and also in Van Diemen’s Land, and 
the islands in Bass’s Straits. It measures from five 
inches to five inches and a half in length ; the female 
being, as usual in this family, rather smaller than her 
partner. The back is brown, the forehead tawny, the 
throat and abdomen white ; a blackish band runs from 
the base of the bill down the sides of the neck, inclos- 
ing the eye. This species inhabits stony districts, and 
flies very rapidly, often ascending to a great height in 
the air. Its nest is built in a bush, of a cup-like form, 
composed of grass, and usually lined rvith the down of 
the Zamia, sometimes mixed with sheep’s wool and 
other soft materials. The eggs are usually two, of a 
white colour, commonly blotched with chestnut. The 
food of the bird consists of the pollen of flowers and 
insects, and its song is described by Mr. Gould as 
eommencing with a single note slowly drawn out and 
followed by a quick repetition of double notes, uttered 
six or eight times in succession. Several other species 
of the genus Glycipliila are met with in Australia. 
THE PAINTED HONEY-EATER {Entomophila picta) 
is a pretty little species peculiar to the interior of New 
South Wales, where it lives amongst the trees bor- 
dering the plains of that part of Australia. It is an 
active bird, and frequently captures insects on the 
wing in the manner of the Flycatchers, by dashing off 
in pursuit of them and returning again to the same 
perch. It is of a black colour above, with a white 
spot behind each ear, and with the outer margins of 
the quill feathers rich yellow ; the lower surface is 
white, with faint brown spots on the flanks. The bill 
is red, and the feet blackish. The length of the bii'd 
is nearly six inches. 
THE LUNULATED HONEY -EATER {Melithreptns 
lunulatus). This small species, which, with the fol- 
lowing, belongs to a group distinguished from the 
preceding Honey-eaters by the possession of a shorter 
and more conical bill, is abundant in the south-eastern 
districts of Australia, where it is found principally about 
the Eucalypti and Angopliorcc. It measures nearly 
five inches in length, and is of a greenish-olive colour 
above, and pure white beneath ; the head, back of the 
neck, and chin are black, with a naked scarlet space 
above each eye, and a pure white crescent on the back 
of the head. Its nest is cup- shaped and composed of 
strips of bark mixed with wool and hair, and lined with 
the fur of the Australian opossums; it is suspended by 
the edge to the slender twigs of the upper parts of trees. 
The eggs are two in number, pale buff, speckled with 
