86 CuRRiE, The Birds of a Gippsland Garden, [vor xxxvi 



that on very hot days they throw their young out of the nests 

 when the iron roof gets too hot. Fortunately for them, we 

 know of this action, and in the evening look for the birds and 

 replace them, or the cat would account for them. 



The Mountain Thrush, Oreocincla lunulata, is very shy as it 

 runs about quickly in the garden in its search for acacia seeds, 

 slipping out of sight on the approach of footsteps. One feels 

 anxious for the bird when cats are about. The Harmonious 

 Thrush or Grey Shrike-Thrush, Colluricincla harmonica, delights 

 in the scraps we give him, and which he takes away to a 

 splintery log to hold them while he picks them to pieces. 



In the bush, not a minute's walk from the house, are the 

 Spotted Ground-Bird, Cinclosoma pundatmn, and the Whip- 

 bird, Psophodes crepitans. The latter are to be seen to great 

 advantage on an evening after rain has been falling and all 

 the bush is damp. One evening four were to be seen ; the hen 

 bird scolded me while her mate was cracking his whip, while 

 two smaller ones were hopping along the path before me. 

 Then she finished up his " crack " in fine style, but I think 

 he manages it alone sometimes. 



That dear little favourite, the Superb Warbler or Blue Wren, 

 Maliiriis cyanochlamys, marshals his family around the garden, 

 and it is very ridiculous to see a pair respond to the shrieks of 

 a great lazy Bronze-Cuckoo, Chalcococcyx plagosits, which they 

 have reared in the garden. The Fantail Cuckoo, Cacomantis 

 riifiilns, was seen for a few days only ; we suspected the Spine- 

 bills were responsible for its rearing. The Pallid Cuckoo, 

 C-itculus inornatiis, can be heard uttering its plaintive notes a 

 little further afield. 



With the Wrens there sometimes comes quite a flock of small 

 birds to the garden, such as the Shrike-Robin, Eopsaltria 

 aitstralis, Fire-tailed Finch, Mgintha temporalis, and the Little 

 Tit-Warbler, Acanthiza nana. Out in the fields in front the 

 White-fronted Chats, Ephthiannra albifrons, have their nest 

 amongst a patch of bracken, and a little away is the Goldfinches' 

 first nest of the season, the second being in an apple-tree in the 

 garden. 



Lovely to watch is the Nankeen Kestrel, Ccrchneis cenchroides, 

 circling round over the grassy fields during the high east 

 wind. The Pipit, Anthiis aitstralis, which runs among the 

 grass, and a brace or two of Quail, Synoiciis australis, are 

 in danger from the destructive desires of this inhabitant 

 of the air. The Little Falcon, Falco liiniilatus, keeps the 

 Rosella Parrots, Platycercns eximius, active in their efforts to 

 keep out of the way, while a pair of Allied Harriers or Swamp 

 Hawks, Circus goiildi, work over the swamp, and go home to 

 where they nest, about six miles away, every evening. 



