WHITE-EYE. 
bare body is reddisli-tinted, bills light-brown, yellow at gape, opened widely 
for food but no noise made (others found made a slight noise like * wee-ee ’). 
On 12th November the eyes were open, quills on wings progressing, female 
parent appears to do all the incubation; will not leave nest until nearly touched, 
and then sits near by uttering tho sharp alarm note, while male further away 
makes a note like a tiny bell rapidly tinkled. On 13th the yellov T -green tint 
of plumage could be seen on bodies of the young, wing-quills of blackish-grey, 
tails just sprouting, female parent very bold, sat in Tea-tree close to me while 
I examined young. On 14th Nov., heads beginning to feather, yellow-green 
of plumage on body beginning to look much like that of parents. On 16th 
the young left the nest, therefore incubation lasted eleven days, young occupied 
nest ten days. One, killed in some way, was found lying in Tea-tree twigs, 
and I here give the plumage of the young as they leave the nest:—Head 
yellowish-green, back the same, mantle ashy-grey, inter-webs of wing-quills 
yellowish-green, bill brown, legs grey ; throat, breast and abdomen white, 
latter slightly tinged with buff, which is more distinct on flanks ; tail f inch 
long, blackish and tinged on edge of webs -with yellow'-green like wings ; upper 
tail-coverts yellowy-green, lower white with slight buff tint; total length, tip 
of bill to tip of tail 3 J inch. White eye-circle fairly well defined.” These 
observations were confirmed several times with exactly the same results and 
little variation as “ the young was like the parent, except that there was a 
buff patch behind the eyes, and the white eye-circle was very ill defined, more 
like a bare ring where feathers were yet to grow. There seems a good deal 
of variation in this eye-ring in the fledglings, some on leaving nest having it 
well defined, others showing more like a bare surface ; the tail was very 
short.” 
Dove also noted : “ The males are very pugnacious at breeding-time ; 
on 14th Oct. a number of the species flew into Tea-tree scrub, and two males 
in fine plumage, the buff on flanks showing conspicuously, began fighting in 
the branches and fell, locked together by their bills, into the tussocks beneath, 
where they separated. On 10th Nov. also I noticed two males fall out of a 
small tree locked in the same manner. On 16th June (midwinter) a large party 
of White-eyes occupied an extensive bush of Coast Wattle (A. sophorce) and 
sang in chorus in a very charming way, making a surprisingly loud sound, 
which could be heard at a considerable distance. On 8th Nov. a male was 
singing vigorously, while perched by himself, a short strain oft repeated, not 
unlike that of some of the male Flame-breasted Robins, and quite different 
from the soft inward song heard from individuals at nesting time. The song 
heard to-day was more of the loud, joyous type, as when all sing in chorus, 
noted above. 
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