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 Aus¬ 
tralia 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 horse-hair; suspended 
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. Heartland, Australian collector. 
Distribution:~Ce ntral Australia, ranging to the coast in mid-western 
and north-western Australia and northwards to the Gulf of Carpentaria. 
Notes. — Also called Heartland’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. 
Queensland to South 
forest and 
and leaves 
9. Fuscous Honey-eater Meliphaga fusca Gould 
fus -ca —L., fuscus, brown. 
Distribution. —Eastern Australia, from 
Australia. 
Notes. Mostly in small flocks, frequenting alike open 
scrub-lands. Food: insects, procured among the blossoms 
and occasionally on the wing; also nectar. 
Nest.—A neat, cup-shaped structure, composed chiefly of strips of 
3aik, bound and matted together with cobwebs and plant down; lined with 
hne r ° otlet s. 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. 5 H 
Q1 i r h , re , e ’ rich salmon > wel1 spotted, particularly at the 
seafon"j„ty to D«embi. r ° Wn a " d PUrpUsh - brown n,arkin S 3 ' Br “ di "S' 
