THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
streaks ; axillaries and under wing-coverts pale brown fringed with white; under¬ 
surface of flight-quUls dark brown margined with bufi ; lower aspect of tail greyish- 
brown tipped with white. Bill black, eyes rich hazel, feet light brown. Wing 
136 mm. Collected at Warunda, Eyre’s Peninsula, South Australia, on the 25th of 
August, 1911. 
The, sexes are alike. 
Nestling, with dotim adhering to various ■parts of its plumage. Fore-head and lores blackish- 
brown, becoming paler on the crown, nape, and hind-neck, with white shaft-lines 
to the feathers ; mantle, entire back and scapulars similar but more coarsely 
marked; upper wmg-coverts dark brown with white shaft-streaks; flight-quills 
blackish fringed and tipped with huffy-white ; tail dark brown tipped with buff; 
region of e 3 ’'e studded with minute quill-feathers; throat whitish; sides of neck 
buffy-white; ear-coverts show the approach of dark feathers with white tips; 
fore-neck, breast, and sides of body drab-brown, broadly streaked with white; 
middle of abdomen lemon-yellow, becoming cream-white on the vent; thighs 
drab-brown; under tad-coverts buff marked with black ; under-surface of flight- 
quiUs dark brown tipped with white; lower aspect of tail buff. Eyes light grey, 
feet fleshy-grey, bill horn, gape cream. Collected at Blackburn, Victoria, on 
the 29th of November, 1912. 
Eggs. Two eggs generally form the full clutch, seldom thi’ee. A clutch of two eggs taken 
near Belltrees, Upper Himter River, New South Wales, on the 28th of October, 
1907, is of a beautiful pinkish-buff ground-colour, spotted with reddish-brown 
and pruplish-grey, wlrich become thickly set together at the larger end. Ovals in 
shape. Smiace of shell smooth and glossy. 33-34 by 23 mm. 
Nest. An open structure, and frequently rather flat and saucer-shaped. Composed of 
twdgs, grasses, strips of bark, etc., and lined with grasses, soft bark, wool, or hair. 
Dimensions over all vary much, but a typical nest measures about 7 or 8 inches 
across. Placed in a tree or bush at heights varying from 10 to 30 feet or more up 
from the ground. 
Cup-shaped. Composed of twdgs and lined with soft pieces of bark. Outside 
measurements, 3| inches deep by 8 wdde ; inside, 2 inches deep by 4. 
Breeding-months. July to early December, 
Some time ago I noted that there were two prints of White’s Journal of a Voyage 
to New South Wales which apparently only differed in one leaf, and that on 
one of these editions the name Merops carunculatus appeared for the Wattled 
Bee-eater, wliile it was missmg in the other. Reasonably, I concluded that the 
technical name was added in the second print and allowed Latham as the 
authority of the name. 
A recent examination of almost a proof copy shows the reverse state of 
affairs, a quite unexpected result. In this copy The List of Plates shows two 
obvious printer’s errors, the word “ of ” in the heading being printed “ op,” 
and the second page reference bemg printed 237 instead of 137. These errors 
were early corrected, as in the other copy seen without the name “ 31 crops 
carunculatus ” these are adjusted. In addition, the plates are beautifully printed 
and bear the artist’s name “ S. Stone ” clearly in every instance. In the later 
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