SINGING HONEY-EATER. 
beyond the Tarcoola Goldfields I repeatedly came in contact with the bird in 
the acacia country, and it often came and ate the berries of the mistletoe that 
grew on the Mulga Acacia close to the Wilgena homestead, where I was staying 
in June 1912. The notes were the same here as near the coast. I have seen 
the bird in Victoria and New South Wales, but there it was in close proximity 
to the sea-coast. Its chief food is honey from the flowers, also berries growing 
on the hushes generally found on the sandy soil near the sea, it will also eat 
quantities of insects; at the Reedbeds near Adelaide I have seen them in 
my garden and during the fruit season they at times become somewhat of a 
nuisance to early soft fruit such as figs.” 
Mr. F. E. Howe has written me : “ This form is very common at Parwon, 
where we notice them feeding high up in the Eucalypts. They suck the honey 
from the Eucalyptus blooms, but at other times they appear to feed on a small 
scab and other insects that they find on the leaves and along the Mallee limbs.” 
A. J. Campbell has recorded: “ This fine species enjoys a wide range, 
and is evidently a hardy bird. My son, Mr. A. G. Campbell, brought home a 
clutch of three fledglings from the Anglesea coastal district (south-west of 
Port P hilli p) where he described these Honey-eaters as very plentiful, welcoming 
in all directions the break of day with their merry calls. The youngsters were 
readily reared on sifted £ Lark-food ’ moistened with honey-water, and flies. 
They became great pets in the aviary, and when anyone entered they would 
perch on the shoulder or bare head, and readily take flies from the palm of 
the hand. They did not sing in any way that their name would suggest, but 
uttered lively calls, and occasionally mimicked the alarm note of their cousin, 
P. pencillata, which occupied the same aviary.” 
Captain S. A. White has recorded about the Gawler Ranges, South 
Australia : “ This very familiar bird was met with at both ends of the ranges, 
but I doubt whether it is numerous in the hills themselves, where we saw 
one or two solitary birds. A few pairs were nesting at the eastern end in 
the low shrubs which marked the course of a stony creek running out upon 
the saltbush plain. The nests contained from two to three eggs, all fresh. 
Although this bird’s ordinary call is melodious, it has also some short, 
harsh and discordant notes. It is very inquisitive, and when its^ curiosity 
is aroused the antics it goes through at times are very ludicrous. 
Macgillivray has noted that it is “ numerous in the Gull country between 
the Leichardt and Gregory Rivers. Stomach contents, insects. 
Barnard stated that it is a “ Common bird in tea-tree localities ” at the 
McArthur River, Northern Territory. 
Morse has observed: “I often wonder why these birds are designated 
* Singing.’ Their notes are few and far between one a Preet, preet, preet, 
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