THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
legs and feet ashy-grey, while Jackson agrees with Mellor as to bill coloration, 
but calls the legs pale olive-brown. 
Mr. E. J. Christian has written me: “ They have a loud call, ‘ tweet ’ 
like a canary, but much louder. They are to be seen here practically all the 
year round, but mostly in summer. I think they wander about chiefly in 
search of food. At Christmas time they are attracted here by the many 
flowering eucalypti and also by the fruit. They become a great nuisance, 
especially to quinces and peaches. They are generally seen in small flocks.” 
Mr. F. E. Howe wrote: At the Murray Swamps adjacent to Picola in 
Victoria this form was very plentiful in the tall timber, and their peculiar 
harsh call was heard all day long.” 
Mr. Thos. P. Austin’s notes read : “A permanent resident of this district, 
Cobbora, New South Wales, and always found here in fair numbers; usually 
met with in pairs or small flocks of about half a dozen birds. They prefer 
the more open forests; seldom seen in the ironbark ranges where there is 
thick undergrowth. When the grapes are ripe they come into my garden 
to feast upon them. They breed here freely, and although I have examined 
many of their nests I have never known them entirely to build one for them¬ 
selves, always using an old Babbler’s, enlarging the entrance and relining it 
with bits of bark and dry grass, in wliich they lay two eggs for a sitting, and 
I have found nests containing eggs from August 22nd till October 25th.” 
Captain S. A. White has recorded: “ This bird was met with just after 
leaving Mannum. This is by far the lowest point down stream it has been 
known to come. James Cockerell collected it at Mildura, but that is hundreds 
of miles up stream. The young were with the parent birds, showing that they 
must have nested in the locality,” and later from Lake Victoria and the 
Murray River added : “ These birds were very numerous round Lake Victoria, 
and their noisy yet musical note was often heard. They are very pugnacious. 
Although no nests were seen I am sure they were breeding by their antics.” 
The Brothers Harvey have written from Mackay, Queensland: “This 
large and interesting Honey-eater is always found in the immediate neighbour¬ 
hood of the Pcindanus palm—so much so, in fact, that it is known to most 
people in this locality as the ‘ Pandanus Bird.’ Not only do they build their 
nests in these palms, but during the non-breeding season they derive an easy 
living from the many species of insects which shelter among the leaves. 
Occasionally, as the opportunity presents itself, they vary their diet with a 
little ripe fruit or the nectar from blossoms. These birds have a peculiar 
habit of performing an ecstatic dance or ‘ corroboree ’ in mid ah’. This antic 
is performed by a dozen or more Entomyzas, and at various times during the 
non-breeding season. One bird generally takes the lead and flies up skyward, 
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