94 THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
7. Yellow-fronted Honey-eater Meliphaga plumula Gould 
plu'-mu-la— L., plumula, small feather. 
distribution. Interior of Australia, ranging from north-western 
Australia to eastern-central Queensland and South Australia. 
notes. Also called Plumed Honey-eater. Fairly plentiful in forest 
country, inhabiting the tall eucalypts and feeding among the blossoms 
and leaves. Very similar in habits to the White-plumed Honey-eater. 
Food: insects and nectar. 
nest. A small, cup-shaped structure, composed chiefly of dry grasses, 
wool, and spiders* egg-bags; lined with wool and horsehair; sus¬ 
pended from the branches of a bush or tree. 
eggs. Usually two, pale salmon, marked at the larger end with 
minute spots of very pale reddish-brown, which form an irregular 
zone. Breeding-season: August to December or January. 
8. Grey-headed Honey-eater Meliphaga keartlandi North 
keartlandi—G. A. Keartland, Australian collector. 
distribution. Central Australia, ranging to the coast in mid- 
western and north-western Australia and northwards to the Gulf 
of Carpentaria. 
notes. Also called Keartland’s Honey-eater. Usually in pairs or 
small flocks, frequenting stunted eucalypts and scrub. Food: insects 
and nectar. 
nest. A small, cup-shaped structure, composed of dried grass-stems 
matted together with silky plant down; lined with the latter material. 
Frequently suspended from near the extremity of a small leafy branch 
of a tree, at heights up to 15 feet from the ground. 
eggs. Usually two, pale fleshy-buff, marked, chiefly about the larger 
end, with spots of dull reddish-brown. Breeding-season: July to Novem¬ 
ber; May and June; or after rain. 
9. Fuscous Honey-eater Meliphaga fusca Gould 
fus'-ca— L., fuscus, brown. 
distribution. Eastern Australia, from Queensland to South Aus¬ 
tralia. 
notes. Mostly in small flocks, frequenting alike open forest and 
scrub-lands. Food: insects, procured among the blossoms and leaves 
and occasionally on the wing; also nectar. 
nest. A neat, cup-shaped structure, composed chiefly of strips of 
bark, bound and matted together with cobwebs and plant down; lined 
with hair, fine rootlets, grass, and often with wool or plant down. 
Usually suspended from the thin branches of a tree or bush, at 
heights up to 20 feet or more from the ground. 
eggs. Two or three, rich salmon, sometimes spotted, particularly 
at the larger end, with reddish-brown and purplish-brown markings. 
Breeding-season: July to December. 
