n.
an Australian bird, with atongue specially adapted for being formed into a tube for theabsorption of honey from flowers. The name is applied to thefollowing species – – Banded Honey-eater – – Myzomela pectoralis, Gould.
♣ Black H. – – M. nigra, Gould.
♣ Black-chinned H. – – Melithreptus gularis, Gould.
♣ Black-headed H. – – M. melanocephalus, Gould.
♣ Blue-faced H. – – Entomyza cyanotis, Swain. [See Blue-eye.]
♣ Bridled H. – – Ptilotis frenata, Ramsay.
♣ Broadbent H. – – Stigmatops alboauricularis, Ramsay.
♣ Brown H. – – S. ocularis, Gould.
♣ Brown-backed H. – – Glyciphila modesta, Gray.
♣ Brown-headed H. – – Melithreptus brevirostrus.
♣ Cockerill H. – Ptilotis cockerelli, Gould.
♣ Crescent H. – – Meliornis australasiana, Shaw.
♣ Dusky H. – – Myzomela obscura, Gould.
♣ Fasciated H. – – Ptilotis fasciogularis, Gould.
♣ Fuscous H. – – P. fusca, Gould.
♣ Gay H. – – Melithreptus vinitinatus, Gould.
♣ Golden-backed H. – – M. latior, Gould.
♣ Helmeted H. – – Ptilotis cassidix, Jard.
♣ Least H. – – Stigmatops subocularis,
♣ Long-billed H. – – Meliornis longirostris, Gould.
♣ Moustached H. – – M. mystacalis, Gould.
♣ New Holland H. – – M. novae – hollandiae, Lath.
♣ Painted H. – – Entomophila picta, Gould.
♣ Pied H. – – Certhionyx leucomelas, Cuv.
♣ Red-headed Honey-eater – – Myzomela erythrocephala, Gould.
♣ Red-throated H. – – Entomophila rufigularis,
♣ Rufous-breasted H. – – E. albigularis, Gould.
♣ Sanguineous H. – – Myzomela sanguineolenta, Lath. [See Blood-bird.]
♣ Singing H. – – Ptilotis vittata, Cuv.
♣ Spiny-cheeked H. – – Acanthochaea rufigularis, Gould.
♣ Streak-naped H. – – Ptilotis filigera, Gould.
♣ Striped H. – – Plectorhyncha lanceolata, Gould.
♣ Strong-billed H. – – Melithreptus validirostris, Gould. [See also Cherrypicker.]
♣ Tawny-crowned H. – – Glyciphila fulvifrons, Lewin.
♣ Varied H. – – Ptilotis versicolor, Gould.
♣ Warty-faced H. – – Meliphaga phrygia, Lath. (Called also the MockRegent-bird, q.v.)
♣ Wattle-cheeked H. – – Ptilotis cratitia, Gould.
♣ White-breasted H. – – Glyciphila fasciata, Gould.
♣ White-cheeked H. – – Meliornis sericea, Gould.
♣ White-eared H. – – Ptilotis leucotis, Lath.
♣ White-fronted H. – – Glyciphila albifrons, Gould.
♣ White-gaped H. – – Stomiopora unicolor, Gould.
♣ White-naped H. – – Melithreptus lunulatus, Shaw. [See also Golden-Eye.]
♣ White-plumed H. – – Ptilotis penicillata, Gould.
♣ White-quilled H. – – Entomyza albipennis, Gould.
♣ White-throated H. – – Melithreptus albogularis, Gould.
♣ Yellow H. – – Ptilotis flavescens, Gould.
♣ Yellow-eared H. – – P. lewini, Swains.
♣ Yellow-faced H. – – P. chrysops, Lath.
♣ Yellow-fronted H. – – P. plumula, Gould.
♣ Yellow-plumed H. – – P. ornata, Gould.
♣ Yellow-spotted H. – – P. gracilis, Gould.
♣ Yellow-streaked H. – – P. macleayana, Ramsay.
♣ Yellow-throated H. – – P. flavicollis, Vieill.
♣ Yellow-tinted H. – – P. flava, Gould.
♣ Yellow-tufted H. – – P. auricomis, Lath.
Gould enumerated the species, nearly fifty years ago, in his` Birds of Australia' (vol. iv.) as follows: – – Plate
Meliphaga Novae-Hollandiae, Vig. and Horsf,New Holland Honey-eater ... ... ... ... 23
M. longirostris, Gould, Long-billed H. ... 24
M. sericea, Gould, White-cheeked H. ... ... 25
M. mystacalis, Gould, Moustached H. ... ... 26
M. Australasiana, Vig. and Horsf, Tasmanian H. 27
Glyciphila fulvifrons, Swains., Fulvous-fronted H.... ... 28
G. albifrons, Gould, White-fronted H. ... 29
G. fasciata, Gould, Fasciated H. ... ... 30
G. ocularis, Gould, Brown H. ... ... 31
Ptilotis chrysotis, Yellow-eared H.... ... 32
P. sonorus, Gould, Singing H. ... ... 33
P. versicolor, Gould, Varied H. ... ... 34
P. flavigula, Gould, Yellow-throated H. ... 35
P. leucotis, White-eared H. ... ... 36
P. auricomis, Yellow-tufted H. ... ... 37
P. cratilius, Gould, Wattle-cheeked H. ... 38
P. ornatus, Gould, Graceful Ptilotis ... 39
P. plumulus, Gould, Plumed P. ... ... 40
P. flavescens, Gould, Yellow-tinted H. ... 41
P. flava, Gould, Yellow H. ... ... 42
P. penicillatus, Gould, White-plumed H. ... 43
P. fuscus, Gould, Fuscous H. ... ... 44
P. chrysops, Yellow-faced H. ... ... 45
P. unicolor, Gould, Uniform H. ... ... 46
Plectorhyncha lanceolata, Gould, Lanceolate H. 47
Zanthomyza Phrygia, Swains., Warty-faced H. .. 48
Melicophila picata, Gould, Pied H. ... ... 49
Entomophila pitta, Gould, Painted H. ... 50
E. albogularis, Gould, White-throated H. ... 51
E. rufogularis, Gould, Red-throated H. ... 52
Acanthogenys rufogularis, Gould, Spiny-cheeked H.... 53
Anthochaera inauris, Wattled H. ... ... 54
A. Carunculata, Wattled H. ... ... 55[Buller, `Birds of New Zealand,' vol. i. p. 106.]
Myzomela sanguinolenta, Sanguineous H. ... 63
M. erythrocephala, Gould, Red-headed H. ... 64
M. pectoralis, Gould, Banded H. ... ... 65
M. nigra, Gould, Black H. ... ... 66
M. obscura, Gould, Obscure H. ... ... 67
Entomyza cyanotis, Swains., Blue-faced Entomyza 68
E. albipennis, Gould, White-pinioned H. ... 69
Melithreptus validirostris, Gould, Strong-billed H.... ... 70
M. gularis, Gould, Black-throated H. ... 71
M. lunulatus, Lunulated H. ... ... 72
M. brevirostris, Gould,
M. chloropsis, Gould, Swan River H. ... 73
M. albogularis, Gould, White-throated H.(as well as pl. 51) ... ... 74
M. melanocephalus, Gould, Black-headed H. ... 75
Myzantha garrula, Vig. and Horsf, Garrulous H. 76
M. obscura, Gould, Sombre H. ... ... 77
M. lutea, Gould, Luteous H. ... ... 78
In the Supplement of 1869 Gould adds – – Plate
Ptilotis cassidix, Jard., Helmeted H. ... 39
P. fasciogularis, Gould, Fasciated H. ... 40
P. notata, Gould, Yellow-spotted H. ... 41
P. filigera, Gould, Streaked H. ... 42
P. Cockerelli, Gould, Cockerell's H. ... 43
Tropidorhynchus buceroides, Helmeted H. ... 44
[Note. – – The Brush Wattle-birds, Friar-birds, Spine-bills,and the Yellow-throated Minah, are known as Honey-eaters,and the whole series are sometimes called Honey-birds.]
1897. A. J. Campbell (in `The Australasian,' Jan. 23),p. 180, col. i:
«The honey-eaters or meliphagous birds are a peculiar andstriking feature in Australian ornithology. As Gould pointsout, they are to the fauna what the eucalypts, banksias, andmelaleucas are to the flora of Australia. They are closelyadapted to feeding on these trees. That great author asks: – – `What can be more plain than that the brushlike tongue isespecially formed for gathering the honey from the flower-cupsof the eucalypti, or that their diminutive stomachs areespecially formed for this kind of food, and the peculiarinsects which constitute a portion of it?'»