60 
in any degree with those birds either in their habits, actions, eco- 
nomy or nidification, in all which particulars they differ from every 
group of birds that has come under my notice. 
271. Pomatorhinus temporalis Vol. IV. PL 20. 
T urdus frivolus, Lath. ? 
272. Pomatorhinus rubeculus, Gould .... Vol. IV. PL 21. 
273. Pomatorhinus superciliosus, Vig. <3f Horsf. Vol. IV. PL 22. 
Family MELIPHAGID2E. 
By far the greater and most prominent portion of the botany of 
Australia consisting of only two or three genera of trees- — -the 
Eucalypti , Eanksice, &c.- — we should naturally expect its ornitho- 
logy to comprise some great groups of birds destined to dwell 
thereon, and such we find to be the case, the true Honey-eaters and 
the Honey-feeding Parrakeets being remarkably numerous; the 
former tribe of birds comprise many species which appear to be 
arranged by nature into minor groups, each characterized by some 
modification of structure ; although the whole are truly insectivo- 
rous, the pollen and the honey in the flower-cups of the Eucalypti 
are largely partaken of, and for procuring which their lengthened 
tongue terminating in filaments assuming the form of a brush is 
most admirably adapted, combined with which is a remarkably 
narrow gape and an incapacious stomach. 
Australia is the great nursery of this tribe of birds, its fauna com- 
prising no less than fifty-eight species; a few others are found in 
New Guinea and some of the Polynesian islands. 
Genus Meliphaga. 
No example of this genus has yet been discovered in the northern 
or intertropical regions of Australia, all the species known being 
confined to the southern parts of the continent, the islands in Bass’s 
Straits and Van Diemen’s Land. The members of this group feed 
principally upon the pollen and honey of the flowers, but occasion- 
ally upon insects; in disposition they are tame and familiar; and 
they frequent the Eanksice in preference to other trees. 
The sexes are alike in plumage, and the young assume the adult 
plumage at an early period of their existence. 
274. Meliphaga Novse-Hollandiee Vol. IV. PL 23. 
275. Meliphaga longirostris, Gould .... Vol. IV. PL 24. 
276. Meliphaga sericea, Gould Vol. IV. PL 25. 
277. Meliphaga mystacalis, Gould Vol. IV. PL 26. 
278. Meliphaga Australasiana ...... Vol. IV. PL 27. 
Certhia pyrrhoptera, Lath. ? 
Genus Glyciphila. 
The members of this genus resort to higher trees than the Meli- 
