_J. & E. Gould del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
MELIPHAGA AUSTRALASIANA, _Vig. & Horsf._
Tasmanian Honey-eater.
_L’Heorotaire noir et blanc_, Vieill. Ois. Dor., t. ii. pl. 55, p. 89.
_Certhia Australasiana_, Shaw, Gen. Zool., vol. viii. p. 226.
_Meliphaga Australasiana_, Vig. and Horsf. in Linn. Trans., vol. xv.
p. 313.—Swains. Class. of Birds, vol. ii. p. 326.
_White-browed Honey-eater?_ Lath. Gen. Hist., vol. iv. p. 172.
_Meliphaga inornata_, Gould, in Proc. of Zool. Soc., Part. V. 1837, p.
152.—Ibid., Syn. of Birds of Australia, Part IV. female.
This little Honey-eater is abundantly dispersed over every part of Van
Diemen’s Land, to which country, in all probability, the species is
restricted, though there is another in South Australia and New South
Wales so nearly resembling it, as to render this supposition doubtful,
and a further acquaintance with the continental bird is necessary to
determine whether it is a mere variety or a distinct species. The chief
difference consists in its being smaller in size, and less brilliantly
marked on the wing.
The _Meliphaga Australasiana_ is one of the few species that enlivens
with their presence the almost impenetrable forests that cover a great
portion of Van Diemen’s Land, giving preference to such parts as are
clothed with a thick brush of dwarf shrubby trees growing beneath the
more lofty gums. The extreme silence of these solitudes is agreeably
broken by the loud shrill and liquid notes which are poured forth in
quick succession by numbers of this bird in various parts of the wood.
It also resorts to the thick beds of the _Epacris impressa_, whose red
and white heath-like flowers bespangle the sides of the more open hills:
the blossoms of this beautiful plant afford it an abundant supply of
food, which it seeks so intently as to admit of a sufficiently close
approach to enable one to observe its actions without disturbing it;
while thus occupied it may be seen clinging to the stems in every
possible attitude, inserting its slender brush-like tongue up the tube
of every floret with amazing rapidity. Independently of honey it feeds
on insects of various kinds, particularly those of the orders _Diptera_
and _Hymenoptera_. When disturbed it flits off with a quick darting
flight, settling again at the distance of a few yards among the thickest
tufts of the _Epacris_, or shrouds itself from observation among the
foliage of the sapling gums.
It is extremely abundant on the hills at the foot of Mount Wellington,
and it may also be observed at most seasons among the thick beds of
_Epacris_ growing on the north side of the Derwent, between Kangaroo
Point and Clarence Plains. I also observed it in every similar situation
on the banks of the Tamar, at the other extremity of the island. The
breeding-season is September and the four following months, during which
period each pair of birds rear two or three broods; and it is a curious
fact, that at the first laying only two eggs are found in each nest,
while in the height of the summer, when insect food is far more
abundant, they almost invariably lay three: the cause of which is either
that the birds are more vigorous as the season advances, or that Nature
has wisely ordained that the number of young should bear a relative
proportion to the amount of food to be procured for their support.
The nest is always placed on a low shrub within a foot or two of the
ground; it is of a round, open form, and is outwardly constructed of the
inner rind of the stringy bark gum-tree, generally lined with fine
grasses.
Unlike every other member of the restricted genus _Meliphaga_ that I
have had opportunities of observing, the sexes are distinguished by a
different style of colouring, a circumstance which led me to
characterize the female as a distinct species under the name of
_Meliphaga inornata_, an error which my visit to the country enables me
now to rectify.
The male has a black stripe passing from the base of the bill through
the eye, and a lunar-shaped mark down each side the breast, nearly
meeting in the centre, black; a narrow stripe above the eye and one
behind the lunar marks on the breast white; all the upper surface dusky
black; wings blackish brown, the primaries and secondaries margined
externally, particularly at their base, with golden yellow;
tail-feathers brownish black, fringed with golden yellow at the base,
the two lateral feathers having a long oval spot of white on their inner
webs at the tip; throat and chest white, with a streak of brown down the
middle of each feather; centre of the abdomen white; flanks and under
tail-coverts sooty grey; irides red; bill and feet black.
The female is of a nearly uniform dusky brown above and beneath; is
destitute of the white stripe over the eye and the white spots on the
lateral tail-feathers; has only a faint tinge of the golden yellow on
the wings and tail; the black and white marks on the throat not very
apparent; the throat pale brownish grey instead of white, and the irides
brown.
The Plate represents a male and female of the natural size on the
_Epacris impressa_.
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