Chapter IV: Part 4

This new species may be distinguished from all its congeners by the uniform colouring of its plumage; it is in fact a most remarkable bird, inasmuch as I scarcely recollect one similarly coloured in any genus that has come under my notice. I regret that, as regards the history of this Honey-eater, its range over the Australian continent, its habits and economy, all is a perfect blank; a single specimen is all I have at present seen; this was procured by one of the officers of Her Majesty’s Ship the Beagle, while employed on the north coast. The names of Captain Stokes, Lieutenant Emery and Mr. Bynoe have been repeatedly mentioned in this work, with feelings of personal gratification that their labours have been useful to science. It now only remains for me to describe the colours of this bird; having I trust thrown out a sufficient hint to those who may visit its native country, and may have opportunities of observing it, that any contributions to its history will be very desirable.

Head and all the under surface delicate citron-yellow, the yellow prevailing over the head; immediately under the ear-coverts is a spot of blackish brown, posterior to which is a patch of bright yellow, the remainder of the plumage olive-grey.

The Plate represents the bird in two positions of the natural size.

PTILOTIS PENICILLATUS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

PTILOTIS PENICILLATUS, _Gould_.
White-plumed Honey-eater.

_Meliphaga penicillata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p.
143; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

This species, which is rarely met with in New South Wales, is very abundant in South Australia; I met with it even in the streets and gardens of Adelaide, where it strongly reminded me of the Sparrow of our own island; and it doubtless enjoys a wide range over the interior of the country. From what I observed of its habits, it appears to differ from the generality of Honey-eaters in the partiality it evinces for the ground; for although most of its time is spent among the leafy branches of the gums and wattles, where its movements are characterized by ease and grace, it is often to be seen hopping about under the trees in search of insects and seeds, which with the pollen of the flowers of the _Eucalypti_ and _Acaciæ_ constitute its food.

Its silvery white neck-plumes present a character by which it is at once distinguished from all other known species. The smaller size of the female is the only external difference between the sexes, for when fully adult their markings are precisely alike. Some of the specimens killed had the bill entirely black, while others had the base of that organ of a yellowish white, which is doubtless indicative of immaturity.

Its slightly-constructed nest, formed of grasses and wool, is cup-shaped, and is suspended by the rim, like those of the other Honey-eaters; I ascertained that the eggs are two in number, but unfortunately did not succeed in procuring specimens of them.

The figures in the accompanying Plate represent the birds coloured so closely after nature as to render the following description almost unnecessary. The beautiful tree upon which they are placed is one of the numerous Acacias that abound in the interior of the country.

Sides of the face and ear-coverts pale yellow; behind the ear-coverts a small tuft of white silky feathers; upper surface rich yellowish grey, the outer edges of the quill- and tail-feathers tinged with a richer colour; under surface light yellowish brown; bill black; legs purplish flesh-colour; irides very dark brown.

The figures are of the natural size.

PTILOTIS FUSCUS: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

PTILOTIS FUSCUS, _Gould_.
Fuscous Honey-eater.

_Meliphaga fusca_, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part II.

_Ptilotis fusca_, Ib., Part IV.

This species of Honey-eater, which is not distinguished by any brilliancy in its plumage, is abundantly dispersed over the thick brushes of New South Wales; and in the months of August and September, when the beautiful _Tecoma_ upon which it is figured is in blossom, it may be seen flitting about among the thick clusters of the pendent flowers in search of insects, which are sometimes captured while on the wing, but more generally extracted from the tubular florets.

I observed nothing remarkable in its economy, or in which it differed from the other members of the group. Like them it is generally found among the flowers and the most leafy branches of the trees. I have never seen it on the plains, nor have I received specimens from any other part of Australia than New South Wales, where it is to be met with both in winter and summer.

The sexes are very nearly alike in colouring; in fact, with the exception of the female being a trifle smaller than her mate, no outward distinction is visible.

The whole of the upper surface greyish brown with a tinge of olive; a ring of black feathers surrounds the eye; ear-coverts blackish brown; behind the ear a small patch of yellow; throat, chest, and under surface light greyish brown; irides light yellow; eyelash bright yellow; gape and corners of the mouth yellow; bill dull yellow at the base and black at the tip; feet fleshy brown.

The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size on the _Tecoma Australis_.

PTILOTIS CHRYSOPS.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

PTILOTIS CHRYSOPS.
Yellow-faced Honey-eater.

_Sylvia chrysops_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. liv.—Bonn. et Vieill.
Ency. Méth. Orn., part ii. p. 455.

_Black-cheeked Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p.
248.—Id. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 196.

_Meliphaga chrysops_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
315.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. i. pl. xxxv. fig.
1.—Less. Man. d’Orn., tom. ii. p. 73.

_Yellow-eared Flycatcher_, White’s Voy., pl. in p. 161?

The _Ptilotis chrysops_ may be regarded as one of the commonest species of Honey-eaters inhabiting the colonies of New South Wales and South Australia; its distribution over those countries, particularly the former, being almost universal. On reference to my journal I find that it was equally abundant in the gardens of Sydney, in the brushes near the coast, in the district of the Upper Hunter and on the Liverpool range; and that in South Australia it was quite as numerous in the mangrove thickets on the coast, as in the interior of the country. No instance is on record of its occurrence in Van Diemen’s Land, nor can the colonies of Swan River on the western, or Port Essington on the northern coast of Australia, claim a place for it in their faunas; its range, in fact, appearing to be confined to the south-eastern part of the country. It is very animated and sprightly in its actions, and during the months of spring and summer is constantly engaged in singing; its melodious song, which much resembles, but is not so loud as that of the Song Thrush of Europe, being poured forth while the bird is perched on the topmost branches of the trees.

A nest found near the Liverpool range in October was very neatly constructed, rather small in size, round, and open in form, and so thin that I could see through it; it was suspended to the fine twigs of a _Casuarina_ at some height from the ground, while another suspended to the lower branches of a sapling gum was within reach of the hand. They were outwardly composed of the inner bark of trees, moss, etc., lined with fine vegetable fibres and grasses. The eggs, which are two and sometimes three in number, are of a lengthened form, and of a deep reddish buff, strongly marked at the larger end with deep chestnut-red and purplish grey; the remainder of the surface ornamented with large spots and blotches of the same colour, somewhat thinly dispersed; their medium length is ten lines and a half by seven lines in breadth.

The sexes are so much alike that no visible difference is perceptible, except in the smaller size of the female.

Crown of the head, back of the neck, all the upper surface, wings and tail dark brown with a slight tinge of olive; throat and under surface dark greyish brown, the latter colour predominating on the chest; a fine line of black runs from the nostrils through the eye; this black line is bounded below by a stripe of yellow which runs under the eye and over the ear-coverts, and below this runs another parallel line of black, which commences at the base of the lower mandible and extends beyond the line of the ear-coverts; immediately above the eye behind is a small spot of yellow, and behind the ear-coverts a like spot of white; bill blackish brown; irides and eyelash dark brown; legs leaden brown.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

PTILOTIS UNICOLOR: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

PTILOTIS UNICOLOR, _Gould_.
Uniform Honey-eater.

_Ptilotis unicolor_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 136.

Although I have placed this species in the genus _Ptilotis_, it is more than probable that it will hereafter be found necessary to constitute it the type of a distinct form, as on a careful comparison it will be seen that it differs from the true _Ptiloti_ in some parts of its structure and in the uniform colouring of its plumage; besides which, its habits and manners are also somewhat different. It is one of the many species that rewarded Mr. Gilbert’s researches at Port Essington; where he states it was seldom met with in the immediate vicinity of the harbour, but that it gradually increased in number as he approached the narrow neck of the peninsula and the mainland about Mountnorris Bay. The situations in which it was usually observed were those adjacent to swampy thickets, and here it was generally seen in pairs: it appears to be of a most lively disposition, being always in motion; its actions much resemble those of the _Tropidorhynchus argenticeps_, with which bird it often fights severe battles. When among the trees its movements are very amusing, and its agility in running upon and creeping round the branches in search of insects is fully equal to that of the _Sittellæ_. Its flight is very short, feeble and peculiar, rarely extending to a greater distance than from branch to branch or from tree to tree, and is performed with a very rapid motion of the wings; the tail being at the same time much retroverted over the back, gives the bird a most ludicrous appearance. It emits a great variety of notes and calls; frequently giving utterance to a loud chattering cry much resembling that of the _Myzanthæ_, but more often a note so similar to the well-known chirrup of the common English Sparrow, that it might be easily mistaken for the note of that bird.

The stomach is diminutive but muscular, and the food consists of honey, insects of various kinds, seeds and berries.

Lores and orbits deep brown; all the plumage brownish olive; the under surface paler than the upper; primaries margined with brighter olive than the other parts of the body; under surface of the shoulder pale buff; irides obscure red; bill dark olive-brown; naked gape fleshy white, passing into yellow at the corner of the mouth; legs and feet light ash-grey.

The Plate represents the bird of the natural size.

PLECTORHYNCHA LANCEOLATA: _Gould_.

_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

PLECTORHYNCHA LANCEOLATA, _Gould_.
Lanceolate Honey-eater.

_Plectorhyncha lanceolata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p.
153; and in Syn. of Birds of Australia, Part IV.

The Liverpool Plains and the country immediately to the northward thereof are, I believe, the only portions of the Australian continent in which this bird has been seen. I found it rather sparingly dispersed over the forests bordering the rivers Mokai and Namoi, and it appeared to increase in number as I descended the latter stream towards the interior. It was generally observed alone, or in pairs, keeping almost exclusively to the _Acaciæ_ and _Eucalypti_. Its chief food is the pollen of flowers and insects, for the procuring of which among the blossoms, and for constructing its beautiful nest, its pointed spine-like bill is admirably adapted. I find it stated in my notes taken on the spot, that this bird possesses the peculiar habit of sitting motionless among the thickest foliage of the topmost branches of the highest trees, where it cannot be seen without the closest observation, although its immediate locality is indicated by its powerful whistling note; I have also heard these notes uttered by the bird while on the wing. Upon one occasion only did I discover its nest, which was suspended from the extreme tip of a branch of a _Casuarina_ overhanging the stream, and in which the female was sitting, as represented in the Plate. The nest is outwardly composed of grasses, interwoven with wool and the cotton-like texture of flowers. The eggs are two in number, rather lengthened in shape, being eleven and a half lines long by eight lines broad; they are of a flesh-white, very minutely sprinkled with reddish buff, forming an indistinct zone at the larger end. So closely do the sexes resemble each other in colour, that dissection alone will enable us to distinguish them; the male, however, rather exceeds the female in size.

The young, of which I killed several specimens in the month of January, had even at that early age assumed the general markings of the adult; and from the circumstance of there being fully-fledged young and eggs at the same time, proves that these birds rear at least two broods in the season.

Crown of the head, ear-coverts, and back of the neck mottled with black and white, a longitudinal mark of black running down the centre of each feather; throat and under surface greyish white, the stem of each feather, which ends lanceolate, pure white; back, wings and tail light brown; irides brown; bill dark bluish horn-colour; legs and feet light blue.

The figures are those of a male and a female, and a nest, of the natural size.

ZANTHOMYZA PHRYGIA: _Swains._

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ZANTHOMYZA PHRYGIA, _Swains._
Warty-faced Honey-eater.

_Merops Phrygius_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxxiv.—Shaw, Zool. of New
Holl., p. 13. pl. 4,—Vieill. 2nde édit. du Nouv. d’Hist.
Nat., tom. xxvii. p. 428.

_Philedon_, Temm. Men., 2nde édit., tom. i. p. lxxxvii.

_Warty-faced Honey-eater_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 14.

_Black and Yellow Bee-eater_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 154.

_Black and Yellow Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 165.

_Embroidered Bee-eater_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 167. pl. 20.

_Philemon Phrygius_, Vieill. Ency. Méth., Part II. p. 617.

_Le Merle écaillé_, Le Vaill. Ois. d’Afr., tom. iii. pl. 116.

_Meliphaga Phrygia_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., p. 13. pl. 4.—G. R.
Gray, Gen. of Birds, 2nd Edit., p. 20.

_Anthochæra Phrygia_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
322.

_Zanthomiza Phrygia_, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 326.

_Mock Regent Bird_, Colonists of New South Wales.

This is not only one of the handsomest of the Honey-eaters, but is also one of the most beautiful birds inhabiting Australia, the strongly contrasted tints of its black and yellow plumage rendering it a most conspicuous and pleasing object, particularly during flight. It is a stationary species, and enjoys a range extending from South Australia to New South Wales; I also met with it in the interior nearly as far north as the latitude of Moreton Bay. Although it is very generally distributed, its presence appears to be dependent upon the state of the _Eucalypti_, upon whose blossoms it mainly depends for subsistence; it is consequently only to be found in any particular locality during the season that those trees are in full bloom. It generally resorts to the loftiest and most fully-flowered tree, where it frequently reigns supreme, buffeting and driving every other bird away from its immediate neighbourhood; it is, in fact, the most pugnacious bird I ever saw, evincing particular hostility to the smaller _Meliphagidæ_, and even to others of its own species that may venture to approach the trees upon which two or three have taken their station. While at Adelaide in South Australia I observed two pairs that had possessed themselves of one of the high trees that had been left standing in the middle of the city, which tree during the whole period of my stay they kept sole possession of, sallying forth and beating off every bird that came near. I met with it in great abundance among the brushes of New South Wales, and also found it breeding in the low apple-tree flats of the Upper Hunter. I have occasionally seen flocks of from fifty to a hundred in number, passing from tree to tree as if engaged in a partial migration from one part of the country to another, probably in search of a more abundant supply of food.

Its note is a peculiar loud whistle, not entirely devoid of harmony.

The nest, which is usually constructed on the overhanging branch of a _Eucalyptus_, is round, cup-shaped, about five inches in diameter, composed of fine grasses, and lined with a little wool and hair. The eggs are two in number, of a deep yellowish buff, marked all over with indistinct spots and irregular blotches of chestnut-red and dull purplish grey, particularly at the larger end, where they frequently form a zone; they are eleven lines long by eight lines and a half broad.

The stomachs and intestines of those specimens that I killed and dissected among the brushes of the Hunter were entirely filled with liquid honey only; insects, however, doubtless form a considerable portion of their diet.

The sexes are nearly alike in colouring, but the female is much smaller than the male, and the young are destitute of the warty excrescences on the face, that part being partially clothed with feathers.

Head, neck, upper part of the back, chin and chest black; scapularies black, broadly margined with pale yellow; lower part of the back black, margined with yellowish white; upper tail-coverts like the scapularies; wings black, the coverts margined with yellow; spurious wing yellow; primaries black, with an oblong stripe of yellow occupying the margin of the outer and a portion of the inner web next the quill, which is black; secondaries black, broadly margined on the outer web with yellow; under surface black, with an arrow-shaped mark of yellowish white near the extremity of each feather; two centre tail-feathers black, slightly tipped with yellow; the remainder black at the base, and yellow for the remainder of their length, the black decreasing and the yellow increasing as the feathers recede from the two central ones; irides reddish brown; bill black; feet blackish brown; warty excrescences covering the face dirty yellowish white.

The figures represent two males, a female, and the nest of the natural size.

MELICOPHILA PICATA: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

MELICOPHILA PICATA, _Gould_.
Pied Honey-eater.

_Melicophila picata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., April 9, 1844.

The accompanying illustration represents an entirely new species of Honey-eater, differing both in form and in colouring from every other at present known; in the pied style of its plumage it so strongly resembles the _Petroica bicolor_, that it might be easily mistaken for that bird; its structural difference is, however, so apparent on comparison that no doubt can for a moment be entertained as to its proper situation in the ‘Systema Avium.’ Its flight is also very different from that of the _Petroica bicolor_. Like many other of the Honey-eaters, its actions when on the wing are extremely varied, and some of them exceedingly graceful; it frequently ascends in a perpendicular direction to a considerable height above the trees with its tail very much spread, when the contrast presented by its black and white plumage renders it a conspicuous and pleasing object. It is at all times exceedingly shy, and invariably perches on the top of an isolated bush or dead branch. It usually utters a peculiar plaintive note, slowly repeated several times in succession; it also emits a single note, which so closely resembles that of the _Myzomela nigra_, as to be easily mistaken for it. It is at all times extremely difficult of approach, particularly the female, which, if possible, is even more shy and wary than her mate. Mr. Gilbert mentions, that unlike the other members of the family, this species assembles in vast flocks, which continue soaring about during the greater portion of the day. It is a periodical visitant to Western Australia, where it arrives simultaneously with the _Artamus personatus_ and _Melopsittacus undulatus_ in the latter part of October.

Specimens of this bird have been forwarded to me from South Australia by my excellent friend George Grey, Esq., Governor of that province, and from Swan River by Mr. Gilbert; they reached me simultaneously, the latter fortunately in good order, the former sadly mutilated “by a cat,” writes His Excellency, “which got into the room and ate the heads off the male and female of this entirely new bird, of which I have no other, and which I had ridden fifty miles to procure.” One of Mr. Gilbert’s specimens had been given to him by Mr. Lock Burgess, to which gentleman I am also indebted for several other rare species kindly presented by him to Mr. Gilbert for me, whereby the interest and value of this work is much enhanced.

I regret to say that nothing more than is stated above is present at known respecting it.

The male has the head, throat, sides of the chest, back, wings, inner webs of the upper tail-coverts, two centre and the tips of the remaining tail-feathers black; the wing-coverts, the base and the margins of both webs of the secondaries, the rump, outer webs of the upper tail-coverts, the under surface and the lateral tail-feathers for three-fourths of their length pure white; irides reddish brown; bill bluish grey, becoming black on the culmen near the tip; naked skin beneath the eye ash-grey; legs and feet greenish grey.

The female is light brown, each feather being darkest in the centre; wings and tail dark brown, the former margined with huffy white; under surface buffy white, with a small streak of black near the tip of each feather.

The figures represent a male and a female of the natural size.

ENTOMOPHILA PICTA: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ENTOMOPHILA PICTA, _Gould_.
Painted Honey-eater.

_Entomophila picta_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 154.

This beautiful little Honey-eater is strictly peculiar to the interior of New South Wales, where it inhabits the myalls (_Acacia pendula_), and other trees bordering the extensive plains of that part of Australia. On a comparison of skins of this species with those of the other _Meliphagidæ_ prior to my visit to the country, I had been led to suspect that the actions and economy of the Painted Honey-eater would be found to differ materially from those of the other members of its family, and such proved to be the case, for it is much more active among the branches, captures insects on the wing, and darts forth and returns to the same spot much after the manner of the Flycatchers. Its song is a loud but not very harmonious strain, which is frequently uttered when on the wing. I have generally met with it in pairs, flying and chasing each other from top to top of the most lofty trees. During flight they repeatedly spread their tails, when the white portion of the feathers shows very conspicuously; the yellow colouring of the wing also contributes to the beauty of their appearance, which somewhat resembles that of the Goldfinch. I found the nest of this bird with two nearly fledged young on the fifth of September; the nest was the frailest structure possible, round, of small size, most ingeniously suspended by the rim to the thick drooping leaves of the _Acacia pendula_, and entirely composed of very fine fibrous roots. The female is much less brilliant than the male, but does not differ in the distribution of the markings.

I have never seen this bird from any other part of Australia than that above-mentioned, nor in any other collection than my own.

Head, cheeks, and all the upper surface black, the posterior edges of the ear-coverts tipped with white; wings black, the outer edges of the primaries and secondaries rich yellow at their base, forming a conspicuous broad mark on the wing; tail black, margined externally with rich yellow, each feather except the two centre ones more or less largely tipped on the internal web with white; throat and all the under surface white, the flanks having a few longitudinal faint spots of brown; bill soft and pulpy, and of a deep pink red; irides hazel; eyelash darker hazel; feet purplish lead-colour.

The figures represent the two sexes and the nest of the natural size.

ENTOMOPHILA ALBOGULARIS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ENTOMOPHILA ALBOGULARIS, _Gould_.
White-throated Honey-eater.

_Entomophila? albogularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p.
137.

_Me-lȕd-be-re_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

This new species is a native of the northern portion of Australia. “I first met with it,” says Mr. Gilbert, “on Mayday Island in Van Diemen’s Gulf, where it appeared to be tolerably abundant; I afterwards found it to be equally numerous in a large inland mangrove swamp near Point Smith. It is an extremely active little bird, constantly flitting from branch to branch and taking irregular flights, during which it utters its pretty Goldfinch-like song; it also pours forth its agreeable melody for a length of time without intermission while sitting on the topmost branches of the trees. I never observed it in any other than swampy situations, or among the mangroves bordering the deep bays and creeks of the harbours; small breaks in the mangroves formed by little coves or bays having a narrow entrance, and thus secluded from the effects of every wind, are the situations it chooses for the purpose of rearing its young. Its small pensile nest is suspended from the extremity of a weak projecting branch in such a manner that it hangs over and at about two feet from the water, the bird always selecting a branch bearing a sufficient number of leaves to protect the entrance, which is invariably at the top; in form the nest is deep and cup-like, and is composed of narrow strips of the soft paper-like bark of the _Melaleucæ_, matted together with small vegetable fibres, with which also the nest is firmly bound to the branch; the inside is slightly lined with soft grass. The eggs appear to vary from two to three in number, as I found a nest in the latter part of November and another in the early part of December which contained three in each, while a third procured towards the end of January had only two; they are rather lengthened in form, and not very unlike those of _Malurus cyaneus_ in the colour and disposition of their markings; their ground colour being white, thinly freckled all over with bright chestnut-red, particularly at the larger end; they are nine lines long and six lines broad. During the breeding-season it exhibits considerable pugnacity of disposition, and instead of its usual pretty note, utters a chattering and vociferous squeaking; at other times it is rather familiar and may be easily approached.

“The stomach was very small, but tolerably muscular, and its food consisted of insects generally.”

Head dark grey; all the upper surface brown; wings and tail darker brown; primaries, secondaries and basal half of the tail-feathers margined with wax-yellow; throat pure white; chest and flanks reddish buff; centre of the abdomen and under tail-coverts white; irides bright reddish brown; bill blackish grey; feet bluish grey.

The figures are those of the two sexes, and the nest of the natural size.

ENTOMOPHILA? RUFOGULARIS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ENTOMOPHILA RUFOGULARIS, _Gould_.
Red-throated Honey-eater.

_Entomophila rufogularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p.
137.

This is another of the novelties that has rewarded the researches of the Officers of H.M.S. Beagle on the northern coast of Australia; the specimens from which my figures were taken were transmitted to me by my friend Benjamin Bynoe, Esq., of that vessel.

The _Entomophila rufogularis_ is the least of the genus yet discovered, and is more nearly allied to _E. albogularis_ than to _E. picta_, from both of which it may at once be distinguished by the red colouring of its throat. The sexes, judging from the specimens sent me by Mr. Bynoe, are very similar in their markings.

Nothing whatever is known of its habits and economy.

Head and all the upper surface brown; wings and tail darker brown; primaries, secondaries and tail-feathers margined externally with wax-yellow; throat rust-red; sides of the head and all the under surface very pale brown; bill and feet dark purplish brown.

The figures are those of the natural size.

ACANTHOGENYS RUFOGULARIS: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ACANTHOGENYS RUFOGULARIS, _Gould_.
Spiny-cheeked Honey-eater.

_Acanthogenys rufogularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p.
153; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

Numerous and diversified as are the forms of the great family of the _Meliphagidæ_, the present species has always appeared to me more than usually interesting, because in the first place few are more elegantly formed, and in the second it differs widely from all others in plumage, and in the singular spiny processes which adorn its cheeks and ear-coverts. In its habits and general economy it bears a close alliance to the Wattle-birds (_Anthochæræ_), but still presents in these respects sufficient differences to warrant its separation into a distinct genus or subgenus, as naturalists may think fit to designate the division.

The Spiny-cheeked Honey-eater ranges very widely over the interior of Australia. I observed it to be very numerous on the Lower Namoi to the northward of the Liverpool Plains in New South Wales. It was the commonest species of Honey-eater I encountered in the interior of South Australia; and I have also received a pair of this or a closely allied species from the interior of Western Australia; as, however, some difference exists between these latter and the birds from New South Wales, I refrain, until I have seen other examples, from stating that it goes so far to the westward as the Swan River Settlement. It is not at all improbable that there may be two or more species of this singular form. Like the Brush Wattle-bird it is rather a shy species, but its presence may at all times be detected by the loud hollow whistling note which it frequently utters while on the wing, or while passing with a darting diving flight from tree to tree. It appears to give a decided preference to the Banksia and other trees growing upon sandy soil; its presence therefore is a certain indication of the poverty of the land in the immediate neighbourhood. It is very active among the trees, clinging and creeping about with the greatest ease and elegance of position, passing its brush-like tongue over the flowers of the Banksias as well as inserting it into the interstices for lurking insects, upon which, like all the other Honey-eaters, it partially subsists.

The nest, which is a round, rather deep, cup-shaped structure, is suspended from a fine branch of a low tree, and is composed of long wiry grasses, and now that the sheep is a denizen of the country, matted together both internally and externally with wool. The eggs are three in number, of a dull olive-buff, strongly dotted with deep chestnut-brown and bluish grey, the markings being most numerous at the larger end. Their average length is one inch, and breadth nine lines.

The sexes are so much alike, that, with the exception of the female being slightly inferior to her mate in size, no difference is perceptible.

Crown of the head, back and wings dusky brown, each feather margined with pale brown; upper tail-coverts with each feather dusky brown in the centre; stripe behind the eye and on the sides of the neck black, above which on the side of the neck another line of whitish mingled with dusky; hairs on the cheeks white; below the lower mandible a line of feathers, which are white crossed by black lines; throat and fore-part of the chest pale rufous; under surface dirty white, each feather striated with dusky brown; tail blackish brown, tipped with white; bare part of the face and base of the bill soft, pulpy, and of a pinky flesh-colour; irides bluish lead-colour; feet olive.

The Plate represents a male and female on a branch of one of the Banksias, all of the natural size.

ANTHOCHÆRA INAURIS.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ANTHOCHÆRA INAURIS.
Wattled Honey-eater.

_Anthochæra carunculata_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
321.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Creadion carunculatus_, Vieill. Gal. des Ois., tom. i. pl. 94.

_Wattle Bird_ of the Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

By nearly every author who has had occasion to mention or refer to this species, it has been confounded with the bird originally described by Latham under the name of _Merops carunculatus_, which bird is strictly confined to New South Wales and South Australia, while that here figured is I believe exclusively an inhabitant of Van Diemen’s Land; hence it becomes necessary to give the latter a new specific appellation, and I have selected that of _inauris_ as indicative of the peculiar feature by which it is distinguished, namely the great length of the pendulous ear-drops. The vast primæval forests of _Eucalypti_ clothing the greater portion of Van Diemen’s Land, whose recesses in many parts have never yet been trodden, afford it an asylum not only where food is abundant, but where it is safe from the attack of man; from these retreats however it frequently emerges, and visits the flowering _Eucalypti_ of the more open forest in the Upper Derwent districts, where forty or fifty individuals may be frequently seen on a single tree. Even in the vicinity of Hobart Town and the islands of South Arm and Bruni it may be observed, but in far less numbers, at all seasons of the year. The neighbourhood of the Macquarrie Plains is a locality particularly favourable to this bird, where hundreds are annually shot and sent to the markets of Hobart Town for the purposes of the table. It exhibits but little shyness of disposition, and almost any number may be obtained without much trouble. It is highly prized as an article of food, and in winter becomes so excessively fat as to exceed in this respect any bird I ever saw, the entire body and neck, both internally and externally, being completely enveloped. I have been informed that a large tea-cupful of oil may be procured from two of these birds, and that as it gives a better light, it is sometimes used in lieu of candles; after the breeding-season it becomes thin and spare, the male then weighing on an average only six ounces. This bird feeds almost exclusively on honey and the pollen of the _Eucalypti_; the only other food detected in its very diminutive stomach being the remains of coleopterous insects. Its whole structure is admirably adapted for procuring this kind of food; its long tongue, with its brush-like tip, being protruded at will into the honey-cups of the newly opened flowers, a succession of which appears with every rising sun throughout the year, upon one or other of the numerous species of _Eucalypti_.

The same restless disposition appears to be common to all the tribe of Honey-eaters, and this bird is as active and quick in its movements as the smallest of the genus, hanging and clinging to the branches in every possible variety of position; and when thirty or forty are seen on a single tree, they present a very animated appearance. Its flight, which seldom extends farther than from tree to tree, is very similar to that of the Magpie of Europe. Its note is a harsh and disagreeable scream, resembling in loudness and somewhat in tone the call of the Pheasant; by some persons it has been compared to the sound produced by the retching or vomiting of man. Both sexes have the wattled appendages beneath the ear, but they are less developed in the female, whose size is also smaller than that of her mate.

Although I found several of the nests of this species in various parts of the colony, I failed in procuring the eggs, which are still desiderata to my cabinet. The nests were moderately large cup-shaped structures, formed of fine twigs and grasses intermingled with wool, and were usually built on some low tree, such as the _Casuarina_ or _Acacia_.

Crown of the head and back of the neck striped with black and grey, the centre of each feather being black, and its external edges grey; back and shoulders dusky brown, the shaft of each feather buffy white; wings deep blackish brown, the external margins of the primaries slightly, and the secondaries broadly fringed with grey; tips of all the primaries white; tail much graduated; the upper tail-coverts and two middle tail-feathers grey, the remainder blackish brown, and the whole tipped with white; chin and under tail-coverts white; throat, breast and flanks grey, each feather having a central mark of blackish brown, which is much enlarged on the lower part of the breast; centre of the abdomen rich yellow; bill black; corner of the mouth yellow; irides very dark brownish black; feet light flesh-colour; claws black; bare skin round the ear, and the upper part of the long pendulous wattle which hangs from below the ear white, gradually deepening into rich orange at its extremity.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

ANTHOCHÆRA CARUNCULATA.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

ANTHOCHÆRA CARUNCULATA.
Wattled Honey-eater.

_Merops carunculatus_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 276.

_Corvus paradoxus_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. 26.

—— _carunculatus_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. vii. p. 378.

_Pie à pendeloques_, Daud. Orn., tom. ii. p. 246. pl. 16.

_Wattled Crow_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 119.

_Wattled Bee-eater_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 150.—Phil.
Bot. Bay, pl. in p. 164.—White’s Journ., pl. in p.
144.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 173.—Lath. Gen. Hist.,
vol. iv. p. 158.

_Anthochæra Lewinii_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
322, note.—Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.—Swains.
Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 326.—G. R. Gray, List of Gen.
of Birds, 2nd edit., p. 20.

_Djung-gung_, Aborigines of Western Australia.

_Wattle Bird_ of the Colonists.

This, the true _Merops carunculatus_ of the older writers, enjoys an unusually wide range of habitat, extending as it does over the whole of the southern portion of the continent, being equally as abundant in Southern and Western Australia as in New South Wales; how far it may extend to the northward has not yet been ascertained; it does not inhabit Van Diemen’s Land. I observed it to be very numerous in all the high gum-trees around Adelaide, in most parts of the interior, and in all the apple-tree flats and forests of _Eucalypti_ of New South Wales. Mr. Gilbert’s notes inform me that he met with it in all parts of Western Australia, but that it was most abundant among the Banksias in the York district. It is a showy active bird, constantly engaged in flying from tree to tree and searching among the flowers for its food, which consists of honey, insects, and occasionally berries. In disposition it is generally shy and wary, but at times is confident and bold: it is usually seen in pairs, and the males are very pugnacious. Its habits and manners, in fact, closely resemble those of the _A. inauris_, and like that bird, it utters with distended throat a harsh disagreeable note.

Its flight is slow and uneven, and rarely extends to any great distance.

It breeds in September and October. The nests observed by myself in the Upper Hunter district were placed on the horizontal branches of the _Angophoræ_, and were of a large rounded form, composed of small sticks and lined with fine grasses; those found by Mr. Gilbert in Western Australia were formed of dried sticks, without any kind of lining, and were placed in the open bushes. The eggs are two or three in number, one inch and three lines long by ten lines and a half broad; their ground colour is reddish buff, very thickly dotted with distinct markings of deep chestnut and umber and reddish brown, interspersed with a number of indistinct marks of blackish grey, which appear as if beneath the surface of the shell: eggs taken in New South Wales are somewhat larger than those from Western Australia, and have markings of a blotched rather than of a dotted form, and principally at the larger end.

The sexes are only distinguishable by the smaller size of the female.

Crown of the head, a line running from the base of the bill beneath the eye and the ear-coverts blackish brown; space under the eye silvery white, bounded behind by an oblong naked flesh-coloured spot, below which is a short pendulous wattle of a pinky blood-red colour; back of the neck and all the upper surface greyish brown, each feather having a stripe of white down the centre; upper tail-coverts greyish brown, broadly margined with grey; primaries and secondaries deep blackish brown, the former slightly and the latter broadly edged with grey; all the primaries tipped with white; two middle tail-feathers greyish brown, the remainder deep blackish brown, the whole largely tipped with white; throat, breast and flanks grey, the centre of each feather being lighter; middle of the abdomen yellow; irides bright hazel-red; legs brownish flesh-colour; inside of the mouth yellow.

The figure is of the natural size.

ANTHOCHÆRA MELLIVORA: _Vig. & Horsf._

_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

ANTHOCHÆRA MELLIVORA, _Vig. & Horsf._
Brush Wattle-Bird.

_Certhia mellivora_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxxvii.

_Le Goruck_, Vieill. Ois. Dor., tom. ii. p. 126. pl. 88.

_Goruck Creeper_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 243.

_Mellivorous Creeper_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 166.

_Wattled Honey-eater_, var. C. Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 159.

_Merops chrysopterus_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxxiii.

_Golden-winged Bee-eater_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p.
153.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 180.

_Golden-winged Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 160.

_Mellivorous Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 161.

_Anthochæra mellivora_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
321.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Goo-gwar-ruck_, Aborigines of the coast of New South Wales.

The student of nature cannot fail to observe that particular forms, both of birds and insects, are peculiarly and especially destined to inhabit certain districts, trees, and plants, and in no instance is this law more strikingly apparent than in the case of the Brush Wattle-bird, which so constantly resorts to the Banksias, that its presence may always be with certainty looked for wherever these trees may be found; indeed I do not remember ever having seen a group of them without having also seen or heard their sure accompaniment, the Wattle-bird; but I must remark, that I have occasionally observed the latter among the Leptospermums and other low shrubs of the swampy grounds. Neither of these trees, it is well known, are to be found on good land; the garrulous note of this species might, therefore, be taken by the settler as a sure indication of the sterile and unprofitable nature of the soil. It is indigenous to Van Diemen’s Land, New South Wales, and South Australia; and in all these countries may be found in such situations as are favourable to the growth of its favourite trees. In the former country it is especially abundant on the banks of the Tamar, and in the belts of Banksias that stretch along the northern shores of that island. Among the places in which it is most numerous on the continent, are near the Port of Adelaide in South Australia; and Illawarra, Newcastle, and Sydney, in New South Wales. The Botanic Garden at the latter place, although in the midst of a populous city, is visited by great numbers of this bird, and I may mention that two of their nests with eggs, forming part of my collection, were taken from the shrubs growing on the borders of this place of public resort. It is but sparingly dispersed in the interior of New South Wales and South Australia: how far its range may extend to the westward of Spencer’s Gulf I have had no means of ascertaining: I have never yet received it from Swan River or any part of the western coast, its place being there supplied by an intimately allied species, the _Anthochæra lunulata_.

The Brush Wattle-bird is a bold and spirited species, evincing a considerable degree of pugnacity, fearlessly attacking and driving away all other birds from the part of the tree on which it is feeding; and there are few of the Honey-eaters whose actions are more sprightly and animated. During the months of spring and summer the male perches on some elevated branch and screams forth its harsh and peculiar notes, which have not unaptly been said to resemble a person in the act of vomiting, whence the native name of _Goo-gwar-ruck_, in which the natives have endeavoured to imitate this very singular note. While thus employed it frequently jerks up its tail, throws back its head, and distends its throat, as if great exertion was required to force out these harsh and guttural sounds.

The Banksias are in blossom during a great portion of the year, and each flower as it expands is diligently examined by the Wattle-bird, which inserts its long feathery tongue into the interstices of every part of the flower, extracting the pollen and insects, in searching for which it clings and hangs about the flowers in every variety of position.

The breeding-season commences in September and continues during the three following months. The nest is round, open, and rather small in size, generally placed in the fork of a small branch often within a few feet of the ground, and formed of fine twigs lined with fibrous roots.

The eggs are two and sometimes three in number, of a beautiful salmon colour, strongly blotched at the larger end, and here and there over the remainder of the surface with deep chestnut-brown; thirteen lines long by nine lines broad.

The sexes are only to be distinguished from each other by the smaller size of the female; and the young from the nest has all the marks of the adult, but much less apparent.

All the upper surface dark brown, each feather marked down the centre with a minute line of white; primaries chestnut-brown on the inner webs for three parts of their length from the base; outer webs and remainder of the inner brown tipped with white; secondaries, wings, and tail-coverts greyish brown tipped with white; tail brown, tinged with olive, and all the feathers tipped with white; feathers of the throat and chest blackish brown at the base and white at the tip; feathers of the under surface the same as the upper, but with the white mark broader and more conspicuous; bill black; irides grey; feet vinous brown.

The Plate represents a male and a female on a branch of the _Banksia serrata_, all of the natural size.

ANTHOCHÆRA LUNULATA: _Gould_.

_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _Hullmandel & Walton Imp._
]

ANTHOCHÆRA LUNULATA, _Gould_.
Lunulated Wattle-Bird.

_Anthochæra lunulata_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., part v. p. 153;
and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part IV.

_Dj̏ung-gung_, Aborigines of the lowland, and

_Tur-dal-l_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of Western
Australia.

_Little Wattle-Bird_, Colonists of Swan River.

This species is very nearly allied to the _Anthochæra mellivora_, but differs from that bird in the greater length of its bill, in the entire absence of the striæ down the head and the back of the neck, and in the possession of a lunulate mark of white on either side of the neck. Its natural habitat is Western Australia, where it generally frequents the Banksias bordering rivers and lakes, and in fact all situations similar to those resorted to by its near ally: it is to be found in every part of the colony, but appears to be more abundant in the neighbourhood of Swan River and the lakes in its vicinity than elsewhere. In its habits it is very solitary and shy, and is moreover very pugnacious, attacking every bird, both large and small, that approaches its domicile.

Its flight is rapid and uneven, and its general note is a discordant cackling sound, resembling an attempt to sing, of the most disagreeable description.

A remarkable circumstance connected with the incubation of this bird is, that it appears to lay but a single egg, and it moreover appears to have no regular time of breeding, its nest being found in abundance from August to November. It is rather small in size, and is deposited in the fork of a perpendicular growing branch: the tree most generally chosen is that called by the colonists of Swan River the stink-wood, but it has been found in the parasitic clump of a Banksia, and also in a small scrubby bush two or three feet from the ground; but it is more frequently constructed at a height of at least eight or twelve. It is formed of dried sticks, and lined with Zamia wool, soft grasses or flowers, and sometimes with sheep’s wool. The egg is rather lengthened in form, being one inch and two lines long by nine and a half lines broad; its ground colour is a full reddish buff, thinly spotted and marked with deep chestnut-brown and chestnut-red, some of the spots and markings appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell, and being most thickly disposed near the larger end.

The stomach, which is slightly muscular, is diminutive in size, and the food consists of honey and insects of various kinds, with which the young when hatched are also fed by the parent birds.

The female is considerably smaller than her mate, but does not differ in the colouring of her plumage.

Crown of the head, back of the neck, and upper part of the back olive-brown, the feathers being darkest in the middle; lower part of the back and rump olive-brown, each feather having a line of white down the stem, dilated into a spot at the extremity; upper tail-coverts olive-brown, with a crescent-shaped mark of white at the tip; primaries brown, the inner webs for nearly their whole length deep chestnut; secondaries and tertiaries brown margined with grey; two middle tail-feathers greyish brown, very slightly tipped with white, the remainder dark brown largely tipped with white; feathers of the sides of the neck long, narrow, pointed, and of a silvery grey; throat and fore-part of the neck greyish brown, with a round silvery grey spot at the extremity of each feather; feathers of the chest and under surface greyish brown, with a fine line of white down the centre, dilated into an oblong spot at the extremity, the white predominating on the hinder part of the abdomen and under tail-coverts; on each side of the chest, an oblique mark of pure white; irides bright hazel; bill blackish brown; feet and legs yellowish grey, the former the darkest and with a tinge of olive.

The figures are of the natural size.

TROPIDORHYNCHUS CORNICULATUS: _Vig. & Horsf._

_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]

TROPIDORHYNCHUS CORNICULATUS, _Vig. & Horsf._
Friar-Bird.

_Merops corniculatus_, Lath. Ind. Orn., vol. i. p. 276.

_Corbi calao_, Le Vaill. Ois. d’Am. et des Indes, tom. i. p. 69. pl.
24.

_Knob-fronted Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 161.

_Knob-fronted Bee-eater_, Ib. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 151.—Shaw,
Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 183.

_Tropidorhynchus corniculatus_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol.
xv. p. 324.—Jard. and Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. iii. pl.
133.—Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Merops monachus_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxxiv, young.

_Cowled Bee-eater_, Ib. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 155.—Shaw, Gen.
Zool., vol. viii. p. 166, young.

_Cowled Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 162, young.

_Knob-fronted Bee-eater_, White’s Voy., pl. in p. 190, young.

_Tropidorhynchus monachus_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.
p. 324, young.

_Coldong_, Aborigines of New South Wales.

_Friar, Poor Soldier, &c._, of the Colonists.