406 ON THE NESTS AND EGGS OP CERTAIN AUSTRALIAN BIRDS, 



Strepera melanoptera, Gould. 



This bird is found breeding in South Australia, It constructs a 

 large open nest of sticks and twigs, lined inside with fibrous roots 

 and grasses, and usually placed in the topmost branches of a 

 Eucalypt. Two eggs of this species in the Dobroyde collection, 

 taken by Mr. Gardner in 1863, are similar in form to those of 

 aS*. arguta ; they are of a light purple or rich vinous-brown ground 

 colour, with large irregularly shaped markings of slaty-brown 

 evenly dispersed over the surface of the shell. Length (A), TG x 

 M8 inch; (B), 1-65 x M9 inch. 



Rhipidura diemenensis, Sharpe. 



Two eggs taken near Hobart in October, 1885, are of a dull 

 white colour, thickly freckled all over with creamy-brown mark- 

 ings, but more particularly towards the larger end. Length (A), 

 0-61 X 0-47 inch; (B), 0-6 x 0-47 inch. 



Malurus cyanochlamys, Sharpe. 



Specimens of this bird were obtained on the Herbert River, 

 Queensland, in November, 1868, together with the nest and eggs. 

 The nest is a dome-shaped structure, with an entrance in the side, 

 constructed of dried grass intermingled with spiders' webs, and lined 

 inside with feathers, hair, &c. ; it M^as placed in a thick bush 

 close to the ground. Eggs four in number for a sitting, fleshy- 

 white sprinkled all over with pale reddish-brown markings ; in 

 one specimen (A) forming a coalesced patch on one end. Length 

 (A), 0-68 X 0-5 inch; (B), 0-68 x 0-5 inch; (C), 0-66 x 0-51 

 inch; (D), 0-67 x 0-48 inch. 



Acanthiza inornata, Gould. 

 This bird is found in the southern portions of Western and 

 South Australia, being particularly abundant in the neighbour- 

 hood of King George's Sound in the former colony, where Mr. 

 Masters succeeded in obtaining a number of specimens during 

 1868, likewise the nest and eggs. 



