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.