250 WOLSTENHOLME —Birds of Camp-Out [ “ 
ance to the common M. lunatus of the south, but without the ver¬ 
milion round the eye. 
Myzomela sanguineolenta. Scarlet Honey-eater (Blood-bird).— 
These were fairly numerous at Rockhampton and about Byfield Creek 
near the camp the light little song of the male birds was generally to 
be heard. 
Myzomela obscura. Dusky Honey-eater. — These very brown little 
Honey-eaters—dark brown above, reddish-brown below—were seen 
occasionally at Rockhampton and frequently at Byfield, and at Yep- 
poon they were plentiful in the scrub along the coast. In some of 
the flowering eugenia tress they were very active and noisy, and 
they were also feeding on the flowers of the mangroves. A bird was 
seen carrying nesting material to the upper part of a leafy tree. 
Stigmatops indtetincta. Brown Honey-eater. — This bird was very 
often seen and its loud cheery note still more often heard. In the 
Rockhampton Botanic Gardens they were plentiful among the flower¬ 
ing shrubs and plants. In the lovely garden at Gracemere some were 
busily exploring the blossoms of a begonia trained along the veran¬ 
dah of the homestead. Close to the camp at Byfield there was a tur¬ 
pentine tree of which they were very fond. On North ICeppcl Island 
they were extremely .numerous. At Lloyd's farm, near Rockhampton 
a nest was shown to us hanging in a small bush only about a foot 
from the ground. It was a compact little structure of light-coloured 
material, lined with soft, white, downy substances and held two very 
light flesh-coloured eggs, practically spotless and with blunt ends. 
Meliphaga lewini. Lewin (Yellow-eared) Honey-eater.—Very plen¬ 
tiful almost everywhere. Some nests were found, one of which was 
in an orange-tree. They are fond of orange-trees and on Tambourine 
Mountain, S. Queensland, have acquired the name of ‘‘Orange-bird." 
The bottom lining of nests at Byfield consisted of very soft, light- 
brown material looking like felt, which residents showed us came 
from the base of the leaf stems of a local Macrozamia or burrawong. 
The lining in nests about Sydney is often made of a white substance 
from seed-pods of plants in the vicinity. Birds use whatever suitable 
material the locality produces. 
Meliphaga virescens. Singing Honey-eater. — This bird was seen 
by Dr. Chenery in trees on the bank of the Fitzroy River at Rock¬ 
hampton. 
Meliphaga versicolor. Varied Honey-eater.—This was the com¬ 
monest bird on North Keppel Island, where it occurred in abundance 
in the mangroves and in the stunted eucalypts in the centre of the 
island and on the hillsides. It is a very lively, noisy species, con¬ 
stantly flying from tree to tree, and uttering a variety of fairly melo¬ 
dious notes, much resembling those of its allies M. virescens and M. 
fascwgiilans. At first it was thought to be the latter species, but 
Mr. Alexander discovered a pool where numbers were coming to drink 
ai -ii a nd sitting down near it he got splendid views of them 
with his binoculars. The throat was in some cases almost pure yel¬ 
low, in others streaked with brown in the centre, the rest of the 
underparts streaked brown and yellow. The upper parts were olive 
brown, with some yellow in the wings. Through the eye was a black 
line with a broad yellow band beneath. In some birds this band was 
separated from the yellow of the throat by darker colouring, but in 
others the two yellow areas seemed to blend. The fasciations of the 
thioat so conspicuous in M. fasciogular'is when a good view is ob^.ined 
were entirely absent. 
The late E. J. Banfield gives a splendid description of this lively 
oney-eater s habits on Dunk Island in his Confessions of a Beach- 
comber, p. 105. The species does not appear proviouslv to have been 
recorded south of that island so that the R.A.O.U. visit to North 
keppel Island has greatly extended its known range to the south¬ 
ward. It is remarkable that though the bird is so abundant on this 
comparatively small island none were seen on the mainland. 
