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1. Harman—Two Handsome Honeyeaters



gaze falls upon a mild Spine-bill or a Crescent Honeyeater feeding

in all innocence upon tbe very same busb as bis exbalted self. Such

impudence ! Surely the fellow has no right to do such a thing! Were

not the Lucernes planted just for the benefit of White-bearded Honey-

eaters ? Then, without further reflection, our conceited little bird

makes a furious swoop on the invader into sacred realm with a loud

snapping of the bill.


Not enough just to scare the wits out of the gentler bird with

hawk-like descent. He must be chased and chased until he would

never dare venture in the garden again. So up in the air the two birds

go, the White-bearded following like a Skua after a Tern. The hunted

one darts down like lightning into the thicket hedge, but the chase

goes on until he is forced to find a more comfortable feeding-ground,,

or wait until an opportunity occurs to creep back into the garden,

unseen by his enemies. White-bearded Honeyeaters spar with each-

other when there is no other bird to fight.


These birds are always very fascinating to watch, the golden-edged

wings flashing in the sun as they fly swiftly from shrub to shrub making

a pretty sight. In its actions, however, the White-bearded Honeyeater

is slow when compared with the brisk alertness of the Spine-bill. Like

most of the family this bird is nomadic or quite possibly migratory,

though most text-books consider it a stationary bird. In Tasmania,

at any rate, it retires to the more mountainous districts in summer,

at which season it feeds mostly on insects, which it often catches

on the wing like a Flycatcher. In the autumn it invades the gardens

and also orchards to feed on half-rotten apples and pears.


Thickets of Ti-tree which almost always grow near streams are its

favourite nesting grounds. The nest itself is usually placed about

ten or fifteen feet from the ground, not at all well concealed, but often

very difficult of access on account of the prickly shrubs in which it is

concealed. It is an untidy affair of fine twigs and grasses, but is always

cosily lined with sheep’s wool, or the cottony fibres of native flax.

Two or three eggs are laid, and these are very pretty. They are of

a pinkish buff colour, spotted at the larger end with reddish-chestnut,

this often forming a zone. When its nest is approached the White-

bearded Honeyeater becomes very excited, and gives itself away by



