FUSCOUS HONEY-EATER. 
brown fringed on the outer webs with yellowish-green—brighter on the outer webs 
of the last—which have the inner ones margined with buffy-white ; tail-feathers 
bronze-brown fringed with green on the outer webs ; lores somewhat darker than 
the crown; eye-ring black; ear-coverts blackish at the base tipped with lemon- 
yellow ; chin and throat olive-brown tinged with yellow ; fore-neck and breast 
dull fawn-colour like the sides of the body ; abdomen, vent, and under tail-coverts 
cream-white ; thighs clay-brown ; axillaries and under wing-coverts buff ; under¬ 
surface of flight-quills dark brown with buff margins ; lower aspect of tail greyish- 
brown. Eyes dark brown, feet brownish, bill blackish with yellow base, gape and 
throat yellow, eyelids bright yellow. Total length 153 mm. ; culmen 12, wing 78, 
tail 65, tarsus 19. Figured. Collected on the Murray Flats, South Australia, on 
the 30th of May, 1911, and is the type of P. f. dingi. 
Adult male similar to the adult female. 
Adult female. General colour of the upper-surface pale earth-brown, including the top of 
the head, sides of face, sides of neck, bind-neck, back, rump, upper tail-coverts, 
scapulars, upper wing-coverts, and innermost secondaries ; outer w r ebs of flight- 
quills greenish-yellow, the inner ones dark brown margined with white : tail pale 
brown margined on the outer webs with greenish-yellow, some of the feathers 
narrowly fringed with white ; lores and eye-ring blackish ; ear-coverts pale sulphur- 
yellow ; chin, throat, and breast similar to the top of the head but paler and slightly 
tinged with yellow ; abdomen, sides of body, thighs, and under tail-coverts buffy- 
white ; axillaries, under wing-coverts, and inner margins of quills below pale buff, 
remainder of quill-lining dark brown ; lower aspect of tail pale greyish-brown. 
Eyes brown, feet and bill black. Total length 150 mm. ; culmen 10, wing 72, 
tail 59, tarsus 19. Collected at Coomooboolaroo, Dawson River, Mid-Queensland, 
on the 29th of August, 1909, and is the type of P. /. dawsoni. 
Eggs. Two to throe eggs usually form the clutch. A clutch of three eggs taken near 
South Grafton, Clarence River, New South Wales, on the 9th of September, 1894, 
is of a rich salmon ground-colour, well spotted, particularly at the larger ends, with 
reddish-brown and purplish-brown. Rather swollen ovals in shape ; surface of 
shell fine, and rather glossy. 19-20 by 14 mm. 
Nest. A neat cup-shaped structure, composed chiefly of strips of bark, bound and matted 
together with cobwebs and a cotton-like substance ; usually it is very compactly 
put together. Lined with hair, fine roots, and grass, and often with a silk-like 
vegetable substance. Situated in a small tree or bush, at heights varying from 
12 to 20 feet from the ground. Dimensions over all: 2\ to nearly 3 inches across 
by 2| deep; inside egg-cavity: 1£ t° nearly 2 inches across by 1| inches deep. 
Eggs. A clutch of two eggs of the northern form taken at Duaringa, near Rockhampton, 
Queensland, on the 26th of August, 1895, measures 18 by 13 mm. 
Breeding-months. July to December. 
Gould described this species before he went to Australia, but his were 
the first field observations, though, scanty, thus : “ This species of Honey-eater, 
which is not distinguished by any brilliancy in its plumage, is abundantly 
dispersed over the thick brushes of New South Wales ; and in the months of 
August and September, when the beautiful Tecoma is in blossom, it may be 
seen flitting about among the thick clusters of the pendent flowers in search 
of insects, which are sometimes captured while on the whig, but moie generally 
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