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.
[Illustration:
ENTOMOPHILA? RUFOGULARIS: _Gould_.
_J. Gould and H. C. Richter del et lith._ _C. Hullmandel Imp._
]
ENTOMOPHILA RUFOGULARIS, _Gould_.
Red-throated Honey-eater.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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