LEAST HONEY-EATER. 
Brown Honey-eaters are plentiful on Spring Valley and can be heard along 
any watercourse where the tea-trees and eucalypts are in flower. I think, 
with Mr. Tom Carter, that they confine themselves to the vicinity of ranges.” 
Cornwall’s notes from Mackay, North Queensland, read : “ On the fringes 
of the mangroves, more especially where they merge into open forest country, 
the little Brown Honey-eater is particularly abundant. All they lack in 
brilliance of plumage finds ample compensation in volume of sound, for surely 
never before was so small a body endowed with such powerful vocal abilities. 
They nest amongst the mangroves, and generally choose the time that the 
latter are in bloom—September, October and November. The nest is a pretty 
little cup-shaped structure, and those I have found have been placed about 
four or five feet from the ground. Two eggs constitute the clutch.” 
H. L. White has recorded McLennan’s notes from the Northern Territory : 
“Pera Head, 4/7/15 and Macarthur River, 7/8/15. Numerous in flowering 
paper barks. Bickerton Island, 23/8/15. A few birds, Goyder River, 8/9/15 ; 
Glyde River, 11/9/15 ; and Liverpool River, 19/9/15 and 21/9/15. Numerous 
in mangroves. King River : Numerous in mangroves, in flowering trees along 
river flats, about springs and, occasionally, seen in sandstone ranges. Roper 
River: Numerous in the mangroves along river. Stomach small insects.” 
Macgillivray has noted: “ Brown Honey-eaters were common on the 
Archer River, where they were feeding on the flowering paper-barks 
(Melaleuca). On the 25th July Mr. McLennan flushed one from its nest four 
feet from the ground in a small leaved paper-bark, it contained two eggs 
just chipping.” 
Ashby wrote: “ This little songster was common at Claremont (West 
Australia), also at the ‘ soaks ’ at Watheroo and at Dongara and Geraldton. 
The song of this diminutive songster made a great appeal to us. More than 
once we thought that its song strikingly resembled that of the Reed-Warbler. 
I think it easily the best songster among the Honey-eaters, and should greatly 
like to have the charm of its notes resounding in our South Australian bush. 
The fact of this bird having spread from the tropics down the west coast to 
the Leeuwin, and having failed to extend down the east coast of Australia 
gives scope for research.” 
Mr. Tom Carter has 'written: “In your 1912 ‘ Reference List ’ no 
subspecies of this Honey-eater is given as occurring about the North-west 
Cape or mid-west of West Australia. These birds were common in the scrub 
and dwarf timber in the gorges of the rugged ranges that extend from Point 
Cloates to Ylaming Head (near N.W. Cape), a distance of nearly eighty miles. 
Their loud cheerful songs could be heard all the year round. On two occasions 
only were any of these birds observed away from these ranges, viz., one was 
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