102 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
one of the liveliest songs of all our small birds, a succession of 
remarkably sweet and clear notes, often heard during the midday 
heat of summer when nearly all other species are silent. 
nest. A small, cup-shaped structure, composed of thin strips of 
bark and rootlets, and sometimes liorse-hair; usually scantily lined with 
very fine grass and a few rootlets, and occasionally with horse-hair. 
Generally suspended from a thin, forked, horizontal twig of a drooping 
branch of a tree. Favourite nesting-trees are turpentines and paper- 
barks. 
eggs. Two, rarely three, white with a faint pinkish tinge, spotted and 
speckled with dull chestnut, reddish-brown, and purplish-grey mark¬ 
ings, forming a zone at the larger end. Breeding-season: October to 
December or January. 
7. Red-headed Honey-eater Myzomela erythrocephala Gould—7A. 
Female 
e-ryth'-ro-ceph'-al-a— Gk, erythros, red; Gk, cephale, head. 
distribution. Tropical northern Australia, from Derby (north¬ 
western Australia) to Cape York (northern Queensland); also occurs 
in New Guinea. 
notes. Usually in flocks, frequenting the mangroves and adjacent 
scrub, seeking insects and nectar from the flowers. It is very active, 
flitting from one cluster of flowers to another, uttering at the same 
time a rather sharp and hard chirrup. 
nest. Like that of the Scarlet Honey-eater, usually placed in the 
tops of the highest mangroves. 
eggs. Two, white, finely spotted with pale chestnut, reddish-brown, 
and purplish-grey, the markings being chiefly confined to the larger 
end. Breeding-season: October to January. 
8. Banded Honey-eater Myzomela pectoralis Gould—8A. Female 
pec-tor-a'-lis—L., pectoralis, breasted. 
distribution. Tropical northern Australia. 
notes. Appears to be nomadic* Usually in flocks, frequenting the 
flowering trees and shrubs. Food: insects and nectar. 
nest. A small, cup-shaped structure, composed of strips of bark 
and fine grasses, bound together with cobwebs; lined with fine rootlets 
and grasses. Usually suspended from a fork at the extremity of a small 
leafy branch of a tree or bush. 
eggs. Usually two, buffy-white, becoming darker towards the larger 
end, where a band of very minute, clouded, brownish markings form 
an indistinct zone. Breeding-season: October to January and on to 
May (June). 
9. Black Honey-eater Myzomela nigra Gould—9A. Female 
ni'-gra— L., niger, black. 
distribution. Over the inland portions of the Australian con 
tinent. 
