Chapter V: Part 5

There are few birds more familiarly known in the colony of New South Wales than this remarkable species of Honey-eater: it is generally dispersed over the face of the country, both in the thick brushes near the coast and in the more open forests of the interior. I also observed it tolerably abundant on the banks of the Peel, but could not fail to observe that its numbers diminished as I descended the Namoi, on the lower parts of which river it is, I believe, rarely if ever seen, its place there being supplied by the yellow-throated species, _Tropidorhynchus citreogularis_. My own observations induce me to consider it as a summer visitant only to New South Wales; but as a lengthened residence in the country would be necessary to determine this point, my limited stay may have led me into error. It has never yet been known to visit Van Diemen’s Land, neither have I traced it so far to the westward as South Australia.

The Friar-Bird, selecting the topmost dead branch of the most lofty trees whereon to perch and pour forth its garrulous and singular notes, attracts attention more by its loud and extraordinary call than by its appearance. From the fancied resemblance of its notes to those words, it has obtained from the Colonists the various names of “Poor Soldier,” “Pimlico,” “Four o’clock,” etc. Its bare head and neck have also suggested the names of “Friar-Bird,” “Monk,” “Leather Head,” etc.

Its flight is undulating and powerful, and it may frequently be seen passing over the tops of the trees from one part of the forest to another. While among the branches it displays a more than ordinary number of singular positions; its curved and powerful claws enabling it to cling in every variety of attitude, frequently hanging by one foot with its head downwards, etc. If seized when only wounded, it inflicts with its sharp claws severe and deep wounds on the hands of its captor.

Its food consists of the pollen of the _Eucalypti_, and insects, to which are added wild figs and berries.

It commences breeding in November, when it becomes animated and fierce, losing all fear of man, and readily attacking hawks, crows, magpies (_Gymnorhina_) or other large birds that may venture within the precincts of its nest, never desisting from the attack until they are driven to a considerable distance. The nest, which is rather rudely constructed, and of a large size for a Honey-eater, is cup-shaped, and outwardly composed of the inner rind of the stringy bark and wool, to which succeeds a layer of fine twigs lined with grasses and fibrous roots, the whole being suspended to the horizontal branch of an apple- (_Angophora_) or gum-tree without the least regard to secresy, frequently within a few feet of the ground. So numerous were they breeding in the Apple-tree Flats near Aberdeen and Yarrundi, that they might almost be termed gregarious. The eggs are generally three in number, of a pale salmon colour with minute spots of a darker tint, one inch and five lines long by eleven lines broad.

There is no observable difference in the plumage of the sexes, but the female is somewhat smaller in size.

The adults have the bill and head dull ink-black; all the upper surface, wings and tail greyish brown, the feathers of the latter tipped with white; chin and lanceolate feathers on the chest silvery white, with a fine line of brown down the centre; remainder of the under surface brownish grey; eye red, fading immediately after death to brown and sometimes to greyish hazel; feet lead-colour.

The young, although having the same general colouring as the adult, have the head less denuded of feathers, and a mere rudiment of the knob on the bill; the feathers on the breast are also less lanceolate in form, and those on the sides of the chest are margined with yellow; eye dark brown, surrounded with short brown feathers lengthening into a tuft at the back of the head; feet much more blue than in adults.

The Plate represents an old bird and a young one of the first autumn, on the wild fig of the Upper Hunter; the birds and plant being of the natural size.

TROPIDORHYNCHUS ARGENTICEPS: _Gould_.

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

TROPIDORHYNCHUS ARGENTICEPS, _Gould_.
Silvery-crowned Friar-bird.

_Tropidorhynchus argenticeps_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII.
1839, p. 144.

For the first knowledge of this new species of _Tropidorhynchus_, science is indebted to Benjamin Bynoe, Esq., Surgeon of Her Majesty’s Surveying ship the Beagle, who, on my visiting Sydney, placed his specimens at my disposal; since my return, other examples have been sent for my use, in this work, by His Excellency Captain Grey, now Governor of South Australia.

Mr. Bynoe’s specimens were all obtained during the survey of the north-west coast, a portion of Australia the natural productions of which are but little known, and Captain Grey’s during his expedition into the interior, from the same coast.

In size the Silvery-crowned Friar-bird is somewhat inferior to the common species (_Tropidorhynchus corniculatus_), from which it may also he readily distinguished by the crown of the head being clothed with well-defined, small, lanceolate feathers. Of its habits and economy nothing is known; but as it is very nearly allied to the last-mentioned species, we may reasonably conclude that they are very similar.

Crown of the head silvery grey; the remainder of the head naked, and of a blackish brown; throat and all the under surface white; back, wings and tail brown; bill and feet blackish brown.

The figure is of the natural size.

TROPIDORHYNCHUS CITREOGULARIS: _Gould_.

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

TROPIDORHYNCHUS CITREOGULARIS, _Gould_.
Yellow-throated Friar-Bird.

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

_Ȁr-dulk_ and _Wȕl-loo-rat?_ Aborigines of Port Essington.

_Leather-neck_ of the Colonists of Port Essington.

_Yellow-throated Friar_, Colonists of New South Wales.

This is strictly a bird of the interior of the south-eastern portion of Australia, and is never, so far as I am aware, found on the sea-side of the mountain ranges. I observed it in tolerable abundance during my tour to the Namoi; first meeting with it in the neighbourhood of Brezi, whence as I descended the river to the northward it gradually became more numerous. I killed both adult and young birds in December, the latter of which had just left the nest, consequently the breeding-season must have been about a month previous. The yellow colouring of the throat represented in my ‘Synopsis of the Birds of Australia,’ is peculiar to the period of immaturity; in the adult this colouring is entirely wanting, and the bird is one of the plainest-coloured species of the Australian Fauna.

Its habits and manners are very similar to those of the _Tropidorhynchus corniculatus_; like that bird it feeds on insects, berries, fruits, and the flowers of the _Eucalypti_, among the smaller branches of which it may constantly be seen hanging and clinging in every possible variety of attitude.

In the neighbourhood of Port Essington on the north coast, a species of this form is found which precisely resembles the present bird in every respect, except that it is about one-fifth smaller and has a rather larger bill; if these birds should ultimately prove to be merely varieties of each other, then the range of the species will be very extensive indeed; in my own opinion they are distinct, but whether I am right in thus believing or not, can only be ascertained by an increased knowledge of the productions of this vast continent.

Mr. Gilbert states that the Port Essington bird is less abundant, less active, and has not so deep a voice as the _T. argenticeps_, but that the habits and manners of the two birds are precisely similar.

The adult has the whole of the upper surface, wings and tail light brown; all the under surface pale greyish brown; bill and legs leaden olive; irides and eyelash nearly black; naked part of the face mealy bluish lead-colour.

The young are similar to the adult, but have the feathers of the upper surface fringed with grey, and those of the wings slightly margined with greenish yellow; the throat and sides of the chest lemon-yellow; face blackish, and not so mealy as in the adult.

The young of the Port Essington bird has the yellow colouring of the throat still more extensive than in the bird from New South Wales.

The figures represent an adult and a young bird from specimens killed on the Namoi.

ACANTHORHYNCHUS TENUIROSTRIS.

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

ACANTHORHYNCHUS TENUIROSTRIS.
Slender-billed Spine-bill.

_Certhia tenuirostris_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Suppl., p. xxxvi.

_Le Cap noir_, Vieill. Ois. Dor., tom. ii. p. 94. pl. 60.

_Slender-billed Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 194. pl.
lxii.

_Flapping Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 195.

_Hooded Creeper_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 109.

_Slender-billed Creeper_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Suppl., vol. ii. p. 165. pl.
129.

_Meliphaga tenuirostris_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
317.

_Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris_, Gould, Syn. Birds of Australia, Part
II.

—— _dubius?_ Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V. p. 25; and in Syn.
Birds of Australia, Part II.

_Cobbler’s Awl_, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

_Spine-bill_, Colonists of New South Wales.

On referring to the above list of synonyms, it will be seen that I formerly entertained an opinion that there were two species of this genus very nearly allied to each other, the one a native of Van Diemen’s Land, and the other of the continent of Australia; the former being distinguished from the latter by its smaller size in all its admeasurements, by the crescent-shaped markings of the neck, and by the brown of the abdomen being much deeper in colour; I am now, however, inclined to believe that they are identical; but as no conclusive evidence that such is the case has yet been obtained, I must leave the matter still doubtful until further research shall enable us to decide the question. In habits, disposition and nidification the two birds closely assimilate, as I had abundant opportunities of observing during my residence in the colonies.

There is no member of the large family of Honey-eaters to which it belongs that enjoys a structure more especially adapted for the purposes of its existence than the present species, whose fine and extremely delicate bill is peculiarly suited for the extraction of insects and honey from the inmost recesses of the tubular flowers which abound in many parts of Australia, particularly of the various species of _Epacris_, a tribe of plants closely allied to the Heaths (_Erica_) of Africa and Europe, which when in bloom are always frequented by numbers of these birds, so much so indeed that it would seem as if the one was expressly designed for the other, the flowers for the birds and _vice versâ_; those who have traversed the immense beds of _Epacris impressa_, so abundant in Van Diemen’s Land, must have often observed the bird darting out from beneath his feet and flitting off to a very short distance, descending again to the thickest parts of the beds. It also frequents the wattles and gums during their flowering-season, and appears to be attracted to their blossoms quite as much for the insects as for the nectar, the stomachs of all those dissected containing the remains of coleoptera and other insects. It is rather shy in disposition except when closely engaged in procuring food, when it may be approached within a yard or two.

Its flight is extremely quick and darting and performed with a zigzag motion; and its note, which is a monotonous shriek, is somewhat loud for so small a bird. Should the bird to which I have given the name of _dubius_ prove to be merely a local variety, this species will be found to range over a wide extent of country, including Van Diemen’s Land, all the islands in Bass’s Straits, and the continent of Australia from South Australia to Moreton Bay; to the eastward of the former, or to the eastward and northward of the latter country, I have never been able to trace it.

The nest of this species is a small cup-shaped and rather beautiful structure, although not so compact or neatly formed as that of many other birds; those I found, both in Van Diemen’s Land and New South Wales, were built on some low shrubs a few feet from the ground, mostly in a species of _Leptospermum_; it is outwardly constructed of moss and grasses, and lined with feathers; the eggs are two in number, of a delicate huffy white, increasing in depth of colour towards the larger end; in some instances I have found them marked with a zone of reddish chestnut spots shaded with indistinct markings of grey, intermingled with very minute ink-like dots; in form the eggs are much lengthened and pointed; their medium length is nine lines and breadth six lines.

Crown of the head shining greenish black; space between the bill and the eye, ear-coverts, lunated band on the sides of the chest, primaries, and six middle tail-feathers black; the remainder of the tail-feathers black largely tipped with white, and slightly margined on the external web with brown; back of the neck rufous chestnut, passing into chestnut-brown on the upper part of the back; secondaries, greater wing-coverts, rump and upper tail-coverts grey; throat, cheeks and chest white, the first with a patch of chestnut-brown in the centre, deepening into black on its lower edge; abdomen, flanks and under tail-coverts light chestnut-brown; irides scarlet; bill black; feet reddish brown.

Specimens from Van Diemen’s Land have the patch in the centre of the throat and the lunated marks on the sides of the neck much deeper and the whole of the under surface richer chestnut.

The figures are those of a male and female, on a branch of what is considered a white variety of _Epacris impressa_.

ACANTHORHYNCHUS SUPERCILIOSUS: _Gould_.

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

ACANTHORHYNCHUS SUPERCILIOSUS, _Gould_.
White-eyebrowed Spine-bill.

_Acanthorhynchus superciliosus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part V.
p. 24.

_Bool-jeet_, Aborigines of the lowland districts of Western Australia.

Hitherto I have only received this fine and well-marked species of Spine-billed Honey-eater from Western Australia, but hereafter it will doubtless be found to range over a much greater extent of country; although a very local bird, it is tolerably abundant both at Swan River and King George’s Sound, and is found to give a decided preference to the forests of Banksias, upon the blossoms of which trees it almost solely subsists. Its food, like that of the other members of its family, consists of insects and honey, for obtaining which its delicately organized bill and the filamentous form of its tongue are peculiarly adapted; the latter member being capable of considerable protrusion beyond the apex of the bill, thus enabling the bird to dive into the deepest interstices of the flowers, which its bill alone would not permit. Like its congeners, this species occasionally frequents the low shrub-like trees, and sometimes is even to be observed upon the ground in search of food. In its actions it displays great activity, darting about from branch to branch with a rapid zigzag motion; its flight is irregular and uneven, but it often rises perpendicularly in the air, uttering at the same time a rather pretty song; at others it emits a loud and strong note.

The nest, which is constructed among the large-leaved Banksias, is of a round compact form, and is composed of dried fine grasses, tendrils of flowers, narrow threads of bark and fine wiry fibrous roots matted together with zamia wool, forming a thick body, which is warmly lined with feathers and zamia wool mingled together; the external diameter of the nest is three inches, and that of the cavity about one inch and a quarter. The eggs are two in number, nine lines long by six and a half broad; their ground colour in some instances is a delicate buff, in others a very delicate bluish white with a few specks of reddish brown distributed over the surface, these specks being most numerous at the larger end, where they frequently assume the form of a zone. The breeding-season is in October.

The sexes present little or no difference in external appearance, but the female may generally be distinguished from her mate by her more diminutive size and the more slender contour of her body.

Crown of the head, all the upper surface, wings, and six middle tail-feathers greyish brown, the remainder of the tail-feathers black, largely tipped with white and narrowly margined on their external edges with brown; space between the bill and eye, and the ear-coverts blackish brown; stripe over the eye, chin, and a broader stripe beneath the eye white; back part of the neck light chestnut-brown; centre of the throat rich chestnut, bounded below by a crescent of white, which is succeeded by another of black; abdomen and under tail-coverts light greyish brown, in some specimens deepening into buff; irides reddish brown; bill black; legs dark brown.

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

MYZOMELA SANGUINOLENTA.

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

MYZOMELA SANGUINOLENTA.
Sanguineous Honey-eater.

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

_L’Heorotaire sanguin_, Vieill. Ois. Dor., tom. ii. p. 127.

_Sanguineous Creeper_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 167. pl.
130.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 235.

_Sanguineous Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol iv. p. 201. pl. 73.

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

_L’Heorotaire rouge tacheté_, Vieill. Ois. Dor., tom. ii. p. 127.

_Small-crested Creeper_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 253. pl. 35?

_Cochineal Creeper_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 167.

_Cochineal Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 201.

_Certhia erythropygia_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. 38.

_Red-rumped Creeper_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 169.—Shaw,
Gen. Zool. vol. viii. p. 249.

_Le Kuyameta_, Vieill. Ois. Dor., tom. ii. p. 92. pl. 58.

_Certhia Australasiæ_, Leach, Zool. Misc., vol. i. pl. 11.

_Meliphaga Cardinalis_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
316.

_Blood-bird_ of the Colonists of New South Wales.

This beautiful little bird is an inhabitant of the thick brushes of New South Wales, particularly those near the coast and those clothing the hilly portions of the interior, and I have reason to believe that it is rarely, if ever, found among the trees of the open parts of the country. I have not yet seen specimens from the western, and only a single example from the northern coasts, whence I infer that the south-eastern part of the continent is its natural and restricted habitat. It gives a decided preference to those parts of the forest that abound with flowering plants, whose fragrant blossoms attract large numbers of insects of various kinds, upon which and the pollen of the flower-cups it chiefly subsists.

I regret to say that I was unable to obtain any information respecting the nidification of this pretty species; but in this respect it doubtless closely resembles the other members of the group.

The sexes are very dissimilar in colour, the female being of a uniform pale brown above and lighter beneath, while the male is dressed in a gorgeous livery of scarlet and black; the young, as is usually the case where the sexes differ considerably in colour, resembles the female until after the first moult, when it gradually assumes the colouring of the male.

Much confusion exists in the writings of the older authors respecting this bird, which has arisen from the circumstance of their having considered it to be identical with two other species, one inhabiting the Isle of Tanna, and the other the province of Bengal: after a careful examination of the subject, I am of opinion that the synonyms given above are all that have reference to the Australian bird.

The male has the head, neck, breast, back and upper tail-coverts rich shining scarlet; lores, wings and tail black, the wing-coverts margined with huffy white, and the primaries with greyish olive; under surface of the wing white; abdomen and under tail-coverts buff; bill and feet black; irides dark brown.

The female is uniform light brown above, becoming much lighter beneath.

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

MYZOMELA ERYTHROCEPHALA: _Gould_.

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

MYZOMELA ERYTHROCEPHALA, _Gould_.
Red-headed Honey-eater.

_Myzomela erythrocephala_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VII. p.
144.

The Red-headed Honey-eater is so distinctly marked as almost to preclude the possibility of its being confounded with any known species of the genus. In size it rather exceeds the common Sanguineous Honey-eater, but is far more diminutive than the species described by Latham as inhabiting the Isle of Tanna, under the name of _Certhia Cardinalis_.

The northern portion of Australia would appear to be the true habitat of the bird here represented, all the specimens that have come under my notice having been procured at Port Essington, where it is exclusively confined to the extensive beds of mangroves bordering the inlets of the sea. From the flowers of these trees it collects its favourite food, which, like that of the other species of the group, consists of insects and honey. It is a most active little creature, flitting from one cluster of flowers to another, and from branch to branch with the greatest rapidity, uttering at the same time its rather sharp and harsh chirrup. Mr. Gilbert states that it is far from being abundant, and is so seldom seen near the settlement that no examples had been procured prior to his visit.

The sexes present the usual difference in the smaller size and sombre colouring of the female.

No information whatever was acquired respecting its nidification, nor whether it be migratory or not.

The male has the head and rump scarlet, the remainder of the plumage deep chocolate-brown; irides reddish brown; bill olive-brown, becoming much lighter on the lower mandible; legs and feet olive-grey.

The female is uniform brown above, lighter beneath.

The Plate represents two males and a female of the natural size.

MYZOMELA PECTORALIS: _Gould_.

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

MYZOMELA PECTORALIS, _Gould_.
Banded Honey-eater.

_Myzomela pectoralis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
170.

It will be seen from the number of novelties received from that territory, that the northern coast of Australia possesses a fauna almost peculiar to itself, few species, of the smaller birds at least, being similar to those of the southern coast.

The present interesting bird was forwarded to me by Mr. Bynoe as having been shot by him on the north coast, but I regret to say it was unaccompanied by any information whatever respecting its habits. In its structure it offers so close an alliance to the typical Myzomelæ that I have provisionally placed it in that group.

Some of the specimens sent me had the centre of the back of a ferruginous hue, while in others the same part was jet-black; I am inclined to regard the former to be the plumage of the young birds of the year, and it is just possible it may also be characteristic of the adult female.

Forehead, crown of the head, upper surface, wings, tail and a narrow band across the chest black; throat, upper tail-coverts and all the under surface white; bill and feet black.

The birds are all figured of the natural size on one of the interesting plants from the same locality.

MYZOMELA NIGRA; (_Gould_).

_Drawn from Nature & on Stone by J. & E. Gould._ _Printed by C.
Hullmandel._
]

MYZOMELA NIGRA, _Gould_.
Black Honey-eater.

_Myzomela nigra_, Gould in Birds of Australia, Part II. cancelled.

_Dwer-da-ngok-ngun-nin_, Aborigines of the mountain districts of
Western Australia.

This most active little bird is peculiar to the interior of Australia, over which it has an extensive range. Mr. Gilbert found it in Western Australia, and I myself met with it on the plains near the Namoi; with me it was always on the Myalls (_Acacia pendula_),while in Western Australia, where it is very local, it generally evinced a preference for the sapling gums. Although it has the feathered tongue and sometimes partakes of the sweets of the flowers, it feeds almost exclusively on insects, which it procures both on the blossoms and among the thickly-foliaged branches. The male possesses a feeble plaintive note, which he frequently pours forth while perched upon some elevated dead branch, where he sits with his neck stretching out and without any apparent motion, except the swelling out of the throat and the movement of the bill. Its flight is remarkably quick, and performed with sudden zigzag starts.

The female differs remarkably from the male in the colouring of the plumage, and, as is the case with many other birds, is much more difficult of access than her mate, who is always more animated, and frequently betrays his presence by his voice or song.

Mr. Gilbert was more fortunate than myself in finding the nest of this little bird, and has furnished the following notes respecting its incubation:—

“This species constructs a neat cup-shaped nest, formed of dried grasses. I found two, both of which were built in the most conspicuous situations; one in a fork at the top of a small scrubby bush, unsheltered by even a bough or a leaf; the other was on the dead branch of a fallen tree, in a similar exposed situation, and quite unprotected from wet or heat. It breeds during the months of October and November, and lays two eggs,” which are of a light brownish buff, encircled at the centre with a band of brown, produced by numerous small blotches of that colour, which appear as if beneath the surface of the shell; they are seven lines long by five and a half lines broad.

The male has the head, throat, stripe down the centre of the abdomen, all the upper surface, wings and tail sooty black; the remainder of the plumage pure white; irides blackish brown; bill and feet black.

The female differs in having the head, all the upper surface, wings and tail brown; throat and all the under surface brownish white, the centre of each feather being the darkest; bill brown; legs brownish black.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

MYZOMELA OBSCURA: _Gould_.

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

MYZOMELA OBSCURA, _Gould_.
Obscure Honey-eater.

_Myzomela obscura_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part X. p. 136.

This species is a native of the northern parts of Australia. At Port Essington, where my specimens were procured, it is only to be met with in quiet, secluded and thickly-wooded districts adjacent to small streams of water; its favourite tree appears to be the _Grevillia_, from the blossoms of which it obtains great quantities of honey and insects. The shy and retiring disposition of this species renders the acquisition of specimens very difficult: “at no time during my stay,” remarks Mr. Gilbert, “did I succeed in getting sight of more than a solitary individual, and I believe it to be a rare bird in all parts of the Cobourg Peninsula.”

This bird differs so much in colour from all the other species yet discovered, that it is readily distinguished from all of them.

The sexes present no external marks of distinction, except that the female is somewhat smaller than her mate.

The whole of the plumage is dull brown, with a vinous tinge on the head; under surface paler than the upper; irides bright red; bill dark greenish black; feet dark bluish grey; tarsi tinged with yellow.

The figures are of the natural size.

ENTOMYZA CYANOTIS: _Swains._

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

ENTOMYZA CYANOTIS, _Swains._
Blue-faced Entomyza.

_Cracula cyanotis_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xxix.—Shaw, Gen. Zool.,
vol. vii. p. 474.

_Blue-cheeked Honey-sucker_, _Meliphaga cyanops_, Lewin, Birds of New
Holl., pl. 4.

_Graculine Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 166.

_Blue-eared Grakle_, Lath. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 130.

_Turdus cyaneus_, Lath. Ind. Orn. Supp., p. xlii.

_Blue-cheeked Thrush_, Ib. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 184.—Gen.
Hist., vol. v. p. 124.

_Tropidorhynchus cyanotis_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.
p. 325.

_Entomyza cyanotis_, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 328.—G. R.
Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, p. 16.

_L’Heorotaire graculé_, Vieill. Ois. Dor., tom. ii. p. 125. pl. 87,
young.

_Graculine Creeper_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 242, young.

_Graculine Honey-eater_, var. A., Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 166,
young.

_Pale-cheeked Honey-eater_, Ib., p. 167, young.

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

_Blue-cheeked Bee-eater_, Ib. Gen. Syn. Supp., vol. ii. p. 154,
young.—Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 171, young.

_Blue-cheeked Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 167, young.

——, var. A. and B., Ib., p. 168, young.

_White-crowned Honey-eater_, Ib., p. 169, young.

_Batikin_, Aborigines of the coast of New South Wales.

_Blue-eye_ of the Colonists.

This attractive and beautiful Honey-eater, one of the finest of the _Meliphagidæ_, is strictly indigenous to New South Wales, where it is abundant and very generally dispersed: I observed it in nearly every part of the colony I visited, both in winter and summer. I also shot a single specimen on the Namoi, but as this was almost the only one I saw beyond the mountain ranges, I believe its most natural habitat to be between the great dividing chain of mountains and the sea. In all probability it may be found far to the northward on the eastern coast, but it has not yet been observed in South Australia, neither is it an inhabitant of Van Diemen’s Land.

In habits and actions the Blue-faced Honey-eater bears a striking resemblance to the members of the genera _Ptilotis_ and _Hæmatops_; like them, it is found almost exclusively on the _Eucalypti_, searching among the blossoms and smaller leafy branches for its food, which is of a mixed character, consisting partly of insects and partly of honey, and probably, judging from others of its family, berries and fruits, but this latter supposition I was not able to verify. Mr. Caley states, that he once saw “several of them frequenting a tree, where they were very busy in obtaining something that appeared to have exuded from a wounded part. I do not know what the substance could be, otherwise than a kind of gum of a bitter and astringent taste.” As I have never detected them in feeding on this or any similar substance, I should rather suppose they were in search of the insects that might have been attracted by this exudation.

I have frequently seen eight or ten of these bold and spirited birds, with numerous other small Honey-eaters and Parrakeets, on a single tree, displaying the most elegant and easy movements, clinging and hanging in every variety of position, frequently at the extreme ends of the small, thickly-flowered branches, bending them down with their weight; they may, however, be easily distinguished from the other birds with which they are in company by their superior size, the brilliancy of their blue face, and the contrasted colours of their plumage; they are rendered equally conspicuous by the pugnacity with which they chase and drive about the other species resorting to the same tree.

It frequently utters a rather loud and monotonous cry, not worthy the name of a song.

I observed a most curious fact respecting the nidification of this bird: in every instance that I found its eggs, they were deposited on the deserted, dome-shaped, large nest of the _Pomatorhinus_, so numerous in the Apple-tree Flats in the district of the Upper Hunter; never within the dome, but in a neat round depression on the top. I had many opportunities of driving the female off the nest, and I can therefore speak with confidence as to this fact. Whether this bird resorts only to places where it may avail itself of the nest of the _Pomatorhinus_, or whether, under other circumstances, it constructs a nest for itself, are points to which I would call the attention of those who are favourably situated for investigating them; and who, by so doing, would render the history of this species so much the more complete. It is probable that, in places where no suitable substitute is to be found, it makes a rather small nest, like all the other species of its tribe. It commences breeding early, and rears at least two broods in the year: on reference to my note-book, I find I saw fully-fledged young on the 19th of November, and that I took many of their eggs in December: they were generally two in number, of a rich salmon colour irregularly spotted with rust-brown, one inch and a quarter long by ten and a half lines broad.

The sexes differ in no respect from each other either in the colouring of the plumage or in the blended richness and delicacy of the blue surrounding the eye, to which it is almost impossible for the artist to do justice.

The young assume the plumage of the adult from the nest, but differ from them in having the naked face and the base of the bill of a pale yellowish olive, which gradually changes to blue after the first season; this has doubtless occasioned the great number of synonyms quoted above.

The adults have the crown of the head and back of the neck black; lower part of the face, chin and centre of the chest slaty black; a crescent-shaped mark at the occiput, a line from the lower mandible passing down each side of the neck, and all the under surface pure white; the upper surface, wings, and tail golden olive; the inner webs of the primaries and all but the two centre tail-feathers brown; the tail-feathers tipped with white; basal portion of the bill pale bluish grey, passing into blackish horn-colour at the tip; bare space surrounding the eye rich deep blue, becoming of a lighter and greenish hue above the eye; irides yellowish white; eyelash jet-black; feet bluish grey.

The young of the first autumn have the eye dark olive with a black lash, and the denuded parts surrounding it, the base of the under mandible and the gape greenish brimstone-yellow; nostrils and culmen near the head yellowish horn-colour, passing into blackish brown at the tip; feet very similar to those of the adult.

The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size, on a branch of one of the lofty _Eucalypti_ of the river Hunter.

ENTOMYZA ALBIPENNIS: _Gould_.

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

ENTOMYZA ALBIPENNIS, _Gould_.
White-pinioned Honey-eater.

_Entomyza albipennis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part VIII. p.
169.

_Wȕr-ra-luh_, Aborigines of Port Essington.

The _Entomyza albipennis_ exhibits so many specific differences from the _E. cyanotis_, that it is almost impossible for one to be mistaken for the other: in the first place it is somewhat smaller in size, and in the next the tints of the plumage are more strongly contrasted; besides which, the white at the basal portion of the pinions is a character which will at all times distinguish it from its near ally. So far as is yet known, its habitat is confined to the northern coast of Australia, where it is said to be rather abundant, particularly in the neighbourhood of the settlement at Port Essington on the Cobourg Peninsula. Mr. Gilbert states that it “is very shy, and from its being always on the alert, somewhat difficult to get near; it is one of the first birds heard in the morning, and often utters its plaintive _peet_ half-an-hour before daylight; as soon as the sun is fairly above the horizon, its note is immediately changed to a harsh squeaking tone, which is frequently uttered while the bird is on the wing, and repeated at intervals throughout the day; it often takes tolerably long flights, mounting in the air to a considerable height above the trees, and then progressing steadily and horizontally. It is mostly met with in small families of from six to ten in number, inhabiting the topmost branches of the loftiest trees, and is seldom seen on or near the ground.”

The food consists of insects and the pollen of flowers, which are procured from the almost perpetually flowering _Eucalypti_.

The sexes present little or no difference in the colouring of the plumage, or, when fully adult, in the colouring of the soft parts, such as the naked skin round the eyes, Sec.; immature birds, on the contrary, vary very much in the colouring of the face and bill; in the youthful those parts are saffron-yellow, which chances to rich ultramarine blue in the adult.

The adults have the crown of the head and back of the neck black; lower part of the face, chin and centre of the chest slaty black; a crescent-shaped mark at the occiput, a line from the lower mandible passing down each side of the neck, and all the under surface pure white; upper surface and wings greenish golden olive; primaries brown, the basal half of their inner webs snow-white; tail-feathers brown, tinged with golden olive, all but the two centre ones tipped with white; point and cutting edges of the upper mandible blackish grey; basal half of the culmen horn-colour; remainder of the bill sulphur-yellow; orbits brilliant blue; legs and feet leek-green.

The Plate represents an adult and an immature bird of the natural size.

MELITHREPTUS VALIDIROSTRUS: _Gould_.

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

MELITHREPTUS VALIDIROSTRIS, _Gould_.
Strong-billed Honey-eater.

_Hæmatops validirostris_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p.
144; and in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Eidopsaris bicinctus_, Swains. An. in Menag., p. 344. No. 188.—Ib.
Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 327.

_Cherry-picker_, Colonists of Van Diemen’s Land.

This bird, the largest species of the genus yet discovered, is a native of Van Diemen’s Land, and so universally is it distributed over that island, that scarcely any part is without its presence. The crowns of the highest mountains as well as the lowlands, if clothed with _Eucalypti_, are equally enlivened by it. Like all the other members of the genus, it frequents the small leafy and flowering branches; it differs, however, from its congeners in one remarkable character, that of alighting upon and clinging to the surface of the boles of the trees in search of insects, after the manner of the Woodpecker and Nuthatch,—not that it can traverse this part of the tree with the same facility; I never in fact saw it run up and down the trunk as those birds do, but merely fly to such parts as instinct led it to select as the probable abode of insects; and it always perches across the stem,—a position seldom, if ever, assumed by the Nuthatch or Woodpecker; I do not, however, consider this habit of sufficient importance to warrant its separation from those with which it is here associated.

The chief food of this species is insects of various kinds, after which it searches with the most scrutinizing care among the flowering gums.

I am indebted to my friend the Rev. Thomas J. Ewing of Hobart Town, Van Diemen’s Land, for the nest and eggs of this bird, which I failed in procuring during my stay in that island. Like those of the other members of the genus the nest is round and cup-shaped, suspended by the rim and formed of coarse wiry grasses, with a few blossoms of grasses for a lining; the eggs are three in number, eleven lines long by eight lines broad, and of a dull olive-buff, thickly spotted and blotched with markings of purplish brown and bluish grey, the latter appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell.

The sexes assimilate so closely in size and plumage, that by dissection alone can they be distinguished; the young, on the contrary, during the first autumn differ so considerably from the adult, as almost to induce the belief that they are the young of some other species; having, however, killed them myself at the breeding-place in company with the adults, I can vouch that they are really the young of this bird and of none other. The specimens from which the upper figures in the accompanying Plate were taken, were shot by myself near the summit of Mount Wellington. I may mention that in the vast forests of gums on the banks of the Tamar, this species was equally or even more abundant than in the southern part of the island. I have never seen it on the continent of Australia, neither have specimens been sent from New South Wales or South Australia.

Its song consists of a couple of notes and is not remarkable for its melody.

Crown of the head jet-black, with an occipital band of white terminating at each eve; ear-coverts, chin and back of the neck black; all the upper surface greyish olive, becoming brighter on the rump and external edges of the tail-feathers; wings brown, with a slight tinge of olive; throat pure white; under surface brownish grey; bill black; feet brownish horn-colour; eyes reddish brown; bare skin over the eye white, tinged with bright green.

The young have the bill and feet yellow, but the latter paler than the former, and a circle of the same colour round the eye; the band at the occiput is also pale yellow instead of white.

The Plate represents an adult male and two young birds in the plumage of the first autumn, of the natural size.

MELITHREPTUS GELARIS: _Gould_.

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

MELITHREPTUS GULARIS, _Gould_.
Black-throated Honey-eater.

_Hæmatops gularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part IV. p. 144; and
in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

This species is very abundant in all parts of South Australia, where it inhabits the large _Eucalypti_. During my stay in Adelaide I frequently saw it on some of the high trees that had been allowed to remain by the sides of the streets in the middle of the city. From this locality it extends its range eastward to New South Wales, where it is much more rare, and where it can only be sought for with the certainty of finding it along the extreme limits of the colony towards the interior. I killed several specimens in the Upper Hunter district, and observed it to be tolerably numerous on the plains in the neighbourhood of the river Namoi, and that it breeds in all these countries is proved by my having killed the young in different stages of growth in all of them. In its habits and economy it differs considerably from the _Melithreptus validirostris_; for instance, I never saw it perch on the boles of the trees, as is usual with that species, neither is it so exclusively confined to the large trees. It is a very noisy bird, constantly uttering a loud harsh grating call while perched on the topmost dead or bare branch of a high tree; the call being as frequently uttered by the female as by the male. Like the _Melithreptus lunulatus_, it frequents the leafy branches, which it threads and creeps among with the greatest ease and dexterity, assuming in its progress a variety of graceful attitudes. Insects and the pollen of flowers being almost its sole food, those trees abounding with blossoms are visited by it in preference to others.

There is no variation in the colouring of the sexes, but there is a very considerable difference between the young and old birds, particularly in the colouring of the soft parts; the young are much less brilliant than the young of _M. validirostris_, in which the colouring of the soft parts far excels those of the adults.

With the nest and eggs of this species I am unacquainted; they are therefore desiderata to my cabinet, and would be thankfully received from any person resident in the colony where the bird is so common. That the nest will be cup-shaped in form, constructed of grasses, &c., and suspended by the rim to the smaller branches of the _Eucalypti_, and that the eggs will be two or three in number, there can be little doubt.

Crown of the head black, an occipital band of white terminating at each eye; ear-coverts and back of the neck black; back and rump golden olive; wings and tail brown; throat greyish white, with a central stripe of black; under surface greyish brown; bill black; feet and tarsi brownish orange; irides hazel; bare skin above the eye beautiful bluish green.

The young have the gape, lower mandible, and feet yellowish orange.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

MELITHREPTUS LUNULATUS.

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

MELITHREPTUS LUNULATUS.
Lunulated Honey-eater.

_Certhia lunulata_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 224.

_Le Fuscalbin_, Vieill. Ois. dor., tom. ii. p. 95. pl. 61.

_Red-eyed Honey-eater_, Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 203. no. 65.

_Meliphaga lunulata_, Vig. & Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv. p.
315.—Jard. & Selb. Ill. Orn., vol. iii. pl. 134. fig. 2.

_Black-crowned Honey-sucker_, Lewin, Birds of New Holl., pl. 24.

_Meliphaga atricapilla_, Temm. Pl. Col. 335. fig. 1.

—— _torquata_, Swains. Zool. Ill., 1st Ser., pl. 116.

_Hæmatops lunulatus_, Gould in Syn. Birds of Australia, Part I.

_Gymnophrys torquatus_, Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 327.

_Melithreptus lunulatus_, G. R. Gray, List of Gen. of Birds, 2nd
edit., p. 21.

The Lunulated Honey-eater is very abundantly dispersed over the colonies of New South Wales and South Australia, where it inhabits almost every variety of situation, but gives a decided preference to the _Eucalypti_ and _Angophoræ_ trees, among the smaller branches of which it may be constantly seen actively engaged in searching for insects, which with the pollen of the flowers constitute its sole food. It is a stationary species, and breeds during the months of August and September; its beautiful, round, cup-shaped open nest is composed of the inner rind of the stringy hark or other allied gum-trees intermingled with wool and hair, warmly lined with opossums’ fur, and is suspended by the rim to the small leafy twigs of the topmost branches of the _Eucalypti_. The eggs are two or three in number, of a pale buff, dotted all over, but particularly at the larger end, with distinct markings of rich reddish brown and chestnut-red, among which are a few clouded markings of bluish grey; their medium length is nine lines, and breadth six and a half lines.

Like the young of _M. chloropsis_, the young birds of this species breed some time before arriving at maturity; at all events I have found examples breeding with that brown colouring of the head and neck, which I believe to be characteristic of youth.

The sexes are alike in plumage, but the female is somewhat smaller than the male.

Upper surface greenish olive; head and chin black; crescent-shaped mark at the occiput and all the under surface white; wings and tail brown, the apical half of the external webs of the primaries narrowly edged with grey; basal half of the external webs of the primaries, the outer webs of the secondaries and the tail-feathers washed with greenish olive; naked space above the eye scarlet; feet olive; irides very dark brown; bill blackish brown.

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

MELITHREPTUS CHLOROPSIS: _Gould_.

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

MELITHREPTUS CHLOROPSIS, _Gould_.
Swan River Honey-eater.

_Melithreptus chloropsis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., November,
1847.

_Jȉn-gee_, Aborigines of the lowland, and

_Bun-g̏een_, of the mountain districts of Western Australia.

_Bȅr-ril-bȅr-ril_, Aborigines of Swan River.

This species differs from the _Melithreptus lunulatus_ in being of a larger size, and in having the bare space above the eyes of a pale green instead of red; in other respects the two birds so closely assimilate, that they are scarcely distinguishable from each other. Individuals in a browner and more dull style of plumage, presenting in fact all the appearances of young birds of the first year, have occasionally been found breeding, a circumstance which has induced many persons to believe them to be distinct; as, however, I found in New South Wales individuals in a similar style of plumage in company and breeding with adult _Melithrepti lunulati_, I am induced to regard these dull-coloured birds as merely precocious examples of the respective species, affording additional evidence of the extreme fecundity of the Australian animals.

The _Melithreptus chloropsis_ is a native of Western Australia, where Mr. Gilbert states it is almost always found on the upper branches of the different species of _Eucalypti_, feeding upon the honey of the flowers and insects. Its usual note is a rapidly uttered _twit_, but it occasionally emits a harsh, grating and lengthened cry.

Its flight is of short duration, merely extending from tree to tree in undulating starts.

The nest is usually suspended from the small branches near the top of the gum-trees, where the foliage is thickest, which renders it extremely difficult to detect. A nest found by Mr. Gilbert in October was formed of sheep’s wool and small twigs; another found by him in November was attached to a small myrtle-like tree, in a thick gum forest, not more than three feet from the ground; both these nests contained three eggs, nine and a half lines long by six and a half lines broad, of a deep reddish buff, thinly spotted all over, but particularly at the larger end, with dark reddish brown, some of the spots being indistinct, while others were very conspicuous.

The stomach is somewhat muscular, but very diminutive in size, and the food consists of honey, the buds of flowers and small coleoptera.

Upper surface greenish olive; head and chin black; crescent-shaped mark at the occiput and under surface white; wings and tail brown, margined with greenish olive; apical half of the external webs of the primaries narrowly edged with white; irides dull red; bill blackish brown; naked space above the eye greenish white in some, in others pale wine-yellow; tarsi and outer part of the feet light greenish olive; inside of the feet bright yellow.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

MELITHREPTUS ALBOGULARIS: _Gould_.

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

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

_Melithreptus albogularis_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., November
1847.

This species, which inhabits the northern and eastern parts of Australia, is very abundant on the Cobourg Peninsula, and I have received specimens from the neighbourhood of Moreton Bay. The total absence of any black mark beneath the lower mandible and the pure whiteness of the throat serve to distinguish it from every other known species; the colouring of the back, which inclines to rich wax-yellow, is also a character peculiar to it. It is very numerous around the settlement at Port Essington, where it occurs in families of from ten to fifteen in number; it is of a very pugnacious disposition, often fighting with other birds much larger than itself; while among the leafy branches of the _Eucalypti_, which are its favourite trees, it frequently pours forth a loud ringing whistling note, a correct idea of which is not easily conveyed. Like its near ally the sexes present no other external difference than the smaller size of the female; and the young at the same age present a similar style of colouring to that observable in the _M. lunulatus_ and _M. chloropsis_, the head and sides of the neck being brown instead of black, and the naked skin above the eye scarcely perceptible.

The food consists entirely of insects and the pollen of flowers, in searching for which it displays a great variety of positions, sometimes threading the leaves on the smaller branches, and at others clinging to the very extremities of the bunches of flowers.

The nest, which is always suspended to a drooping branch, and which swings about with every breath of wind, is formed of dried narrow strips of the soft bark of the _Melaleuca_. The eggs, which are generally two in number, are. of a light salmon colour, blotched and freckled with reddish brown, and are about nine lines long by six lines broad.

Upper surface greenish wax-yellow; head black; crescent-shaped mark at the occiput, chin and all the under surface white; wings and tail brown margined with greenish wax-yellow; irides dull red; bill brownish black; legs and feet greenish grey, with a tinge of blue on the front of the tarsi.

The Plate represents the two sexes of the natural size.

MELITHREPTUS MELANOCEPHALUS: _Gould_.

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

MELITHREPTUS MELANOCEPHALUS, _Gould_.
Black-headed Honey-eater.

_Melithreptus melanocephalus_, Gould in Proc. of Zool. Soc., May 27,
1845.