THE BIRDS OR AUSTRALIA. 
Gould described nearly every species of Ptilotis and then left it for others 
to work out how many had been previously well described by both English 
and French workers. He did not pay sufficient attention to other collections, 
or literature, of which his knowledge was very scanty, but simply went ahead 
with his own birds, naming everything as distinct. This species was well 
described and the specimen was available for study in the Paris Museum. 
His field notes are, however, the earliest on record as he wrote: “ This fine 
and conspicuous species of Ptilotis is abundant in all the ravines round Hobart 
Town, and is very generally dispersed over the whole of Tasmania, If I 
mistake not I have also seen specimens from Victoria, Its colouring 
assimilating in a remarkable degree with that of the leaves of the trees it 
frequents, it is somewhat difficult of detection. When engaged in searching 
for food it frequently expands its wings and tail, creeps and clings among 
the branches in a variety of beautiful attitudes, and often suspends itself to 
the extreme ends of the outermost twigs. It flies in an undulating manner 
like a Woodpecker, but this power is rarely exercised. Its note is a full, 
loud, powerful, and melodious call. The stomach is muscular, but of a very 
small size, and the food consists of bees, wasps, and other Hymenoptera, to 
which are added Coleoptera of various kinds, and the pollen of flowers. It is 
a very early breeder, as proved by my finding a nest containing two young birds 
covered with black down, and about two days old, on the 28th of September.” 
Captain S. A. White has written me : “ This bird is to be met with in 
most of the timbered districts of Tasmania which I have visited, and upon 
one or two occasions when there were no flowering trees for these birds to 
procure honey they seemed to be subsisting entirely on insect food winch 
they -were obtaining from the foliage, under bark, from cracks in tree trunks 
and even from the ground. I met with it on King Island where it is quite 
a common bird, and in the very early morning several male birds would perch 
upon the high dead tops of trees giving forth their loud calls.” 
Mr. Frank Littler has sent me the following note: “ This species 
is fairly well distributed over Tasmania and the larger Islands in Bass 
Straits, favouring fairly heavily timbered country. The food is various 
kinds of insects obtained from under the bark of the trees as well as flies, 
drone flies, etc. It performs many pretty antics when searching the tree 
trunks for food. The song is a loud whistle-like call-note often repeated. 
The favourite position when uttering this call-note is on the topmost twig 
of some sapling. Young able to fly had tail-feathers about three-quarters 
of an inch long. The under- and upper-surfaces were greyish, not having 
attained the yellowish tinge. The wings were paler than in the adult stage, 
while the eyes were very dark.” 
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