THE WHITE-THROATED HONEY-EATER. 133 
Still keeping to the same interesting family of birds, we find 
among the pensile builders another species of Honey-Eater. 
The White-throated Honey-Eater ( Entomophila albogu - 
laris) is rather like the Painted Honey-Eater, being brown 
above, white below, and having a yellow patch on the base of 
the tail. It is, however, easily distinguished from its congener 
I by the peculiarity from which it derives its name — viz. a large 
patch of pure white in the front of the throat, extending as far 
as the eyes. The top of the head is greyish blue, and the 
breast is buff. 
It is a lively, active little creature, ever on the move, and 
delighting to flit from branch to branch, but not caring to make 
1 long flights. As it flies from one bough to another, it utters a 
musical little song, much like that of the goldfinch, and con- 
tinues to sing for a considerable time. It detests wind, and is 
mostly seen in the thick bush, and loves to frequent the masses 
of mangroves which edge bays and creeks, because the air is 
] comparatively still. In thesq places may be found its curious 
nest, which is about as large as a breakfast-cup, and very much 
of the same shape. It is made of the delicate paper-like bark 
of the Melaleucse, and various vegetable fibres, with which it is 
ingeniously hung to the branches. The broad, thin bark causes 
it to be very smooth on the exterior. For the lining, the bird 
is not indebted to any animal or bird, but uses grass-blades, 
which are neatly laid, and form a soft resting-place for the eggs. 
The nest is placed very low, being often found scarcely two 
feet from the water, in that point resembling the nest of the 
African weaver birds, which have already been described. It is 
always hung near the extremity of a branch, and invariably is 
so placed as to be under the protection of a spray of leaves, 
which act as a roof whereby the rain is thrown off. 
. 
There is a genus of very small birds, called Dicaeum, which 
is spread over many parts of the world, and finds several repre- 
sentatives in Australia. All are interesting birds ; but as the 
present work only treats of birds as the architects of their nests, 
it is necessary to select one which builds a pensile habitation. 
This is the Swallow Dictum (Dicceum hinindinaceum ) , a bird 
