SPINEBILL. 
\ 
wing-coverts and inner secondaries ; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and flight- 
quills blackish-brown, whitish on the inner margins of the last; tail also blackish 
with white inner-webs to the two lateral feathers on each side of the terminal portion ; 
cheeks whitish; throat pale smoke-brown; fore-neck buffy-white; breast, 
abdomen, sides of body, under tail-coverts, and axillaries bright fawn-colour ; 
under wing-coverts and inner margins of flight-quills below white ; remainder of 
quill-lining glossy brown; lower aspect of tail similar to its upper-surface. Bill 
and feet black, eyes red. Total length 143 mm. ; culmen 25, wing 69, tail 58, 
tarsus 19. Figured. Collected on the Barron River, Cairns, North Queensland, 
on the 23rd of June, 1910, and is the type of ^4. t, cairnsensis. 
Nestlings. “ Just prior to leaving the nest have the upper-parts including the crown of the 
head dull grey washed with olive ; all the under-parts dull fawn-colour. Culmen 
fleshy-brown, lower mandible and cutting edge of upper mandible rich 3 T ellow ; 
legs fleshy-grey, feet grey.’’ (North.) 
Adult male. Head glossy black ; hind-neck and mantle chestnut, which colour is suffused 
with grej T on the upper back: wing-coverts, inner secondaries, lower back, and 
upper tail-coverts slate-grev; bastard-wing, primary-coverts, and quills dark 
brown or blackish ; outer edge of quills more or less fringed with slate-grey ; middle 
tail-feathers uniform blackish, the two outer feathers on each side white for the 
terminal third and fringed with brown on the outer-web ; lores, ear-coverts, and 
sides of chest dull black ; chin, cheeks, and middle of chest white enclosing a patch 
of chestnut-brown on the throat; breast, abdomen, sides of body, and under tail- 
coverts chestnut ; under wing-coverts white ; axillaries tinged with buff. Total 
length 137 mm. ; culmen 25, wing 68, tail 62, tarsus 19. Collected at Launceston, 
Tasmania, and is A. t. dubius Gould. 
Eggs. Two to three eggs form the clutch. A clutch of two eggs taken at Bostobric, near 
Borrigo, New South Wales, on the 19th of October, 1898, is of a beautiful pale buff 
ground-colour, and marked, chiefly at the larger end of each egg, with small spots of 
chestnut and dull purplish-grey. Rounded ovals in shape ; surface of shell smooth 
and rather glossy. 17 by 14 mm. Tasmanian eggs measure 18 by 12-13. 
Nest. A rather deep open cup-shaped structure, composed of bark, grasses and moss : 
and warmly lined with fine grass and numerous feathers. It is placed in a great 
variety of situations, and most frequently in a thick bush within 8 or 10 feet from 
the ground. Dimensions over all are 3J to nearly 4 inches across, by 2 to 2| inches 
deep. The egg cavity If to 2 inches across by lJt to If inches deep. 
Breeding-months . August to December. 
This beautiful little species so attracted Latham among the Lambert 
drawings that he had the painting reproduced in his “ Supplement ” and thus 
the species v r as accurately fixed at its first introduction. No notes of habits 
were given and none were supplied by Vigors and Horsfield, so that those 
few recorded by Gould constitute the first contribution as follows: “ There 
is no member of the large family of Honey-eaters to which it belongs that 
enjoys a structure more especially adapted for the purposes of its existence 
than the present species, whose fine and extremely delicate bill is peculiarly 
suited for the extraction of insects and honey from the inmost recesses of 
the tubular flowers which abound in many parts of Australia, particularly 
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