i 5 8 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
notes. Inhabits the mangroves; similar in habits to the other 
Warblers; has a plaintive little song, also a harsh scolding note. 
nest. Similar to that of the Large-billed Warbler; very neatly made 
and composed of shreds of bark and spiders* webs. Placed in a man¬ 
grove tree up to 8 feet or more from the ground. 
eggs. Two, white, with reddish-brown dots and splashes, rather 
freely distributed over the larger end. Breeding-season: October (Port 
Hedland). 
4. Mangrove-warbler Gerygone cantator Weatherill 
can-ta'-tor— L., cantator , singer. 
distribution. South-eastern Queensland. 
notes. Also called Singing Warbler, Singing Fly-eater, and Queens¬ 
land Canary. Inhabits the mangroves and adjacent scrubs and gardens; 
it has a very melodious song; perhaps the finest among the Warblers* 
it fiequents the leaves, branches, and blossoms of the mangroves and 
other flowering trees, seeking small insects of various kinds. 
nest. Similar to that of the other Warblers, but with a smaller and 
more slender appendage, composed of fibrous bark, fine roots, and drv 
grasses, firmly bound together with spiders' webs and ornamented with 
their cocoons; lined with feathers, thistledown, and other soft material 
Built in a mangrove tree at various heights from the ground. 
eggs. Three, pale pink, some speckled all over with reddish-brown 
spots, others with the spots forming a dark red zone at the larger end 
Breeding-season: October to December. 
5. Dusky Honey-eater Myzomela obscura Gould 
myz'-o-mel'-a— Gk, myzein , to suck; Gk, meli, honey: ob-scur'-a—L nh 
scurus , dusky. *' uo 
Tropical northern Australia to southern Queens- 
DISTRIBUTION 
land. 
notes. Inhabits the mangroves, adjacent scrubs, and open fore<fc 
searching the twigs, leaves, and blossoms for insects and nectar FonH * 
insects and honey. ’ r00( I: 
NEST. A small, frail, cup-shaped structure, composed chieflv ^ 
rootlets, thin grasses, and sometimes hair, suspended from near tu 
extremity of a long leafy branch of a tree or bush. he 
E ?? S * two ' white with a pale pinkish tinge, minutely sporr^H 
with reddish-brown, chestnut, and purplish-grey, these markiiL/L* d 
Dccemto y “ ,he ^ 
6. Brown-backed Honey-eater Gliciphtla modesta Gray 
SS^odat’. **”• ™ Cet: Gk ’ phihS ’ t0 " J ° f: 
distribution. Northern Queensland, from Cape York to Cal™ 
also occurs in the Aru Islands and New Guinea. bairns; 
notes. Inhabits the mangroves, tea-tree swamps, and scrubs adjacent 
