36 



Mountains. The specimen is an adult male in full plumage. 

 Several years ago I searched for this l)ird in the Richmond and 

 Clarence Rivers scrubs, but found it not, although P. gouldii. 

 Gray, was by no means rare. There is no difterence in the size 

 of the New South Wales bird and those from Port Denison, the 

 wings and tail being in both cases respectively from 2-7 to 2-8. 



rycnoptilus floccosus, Gould, is this season (1889) particularly 

 plentiful in the valleys of the Blue Mountains ; I noticed also 

 flocks of Estrelda hella and E. hicJiciiovii, winch had boon liberated 

 some six years ago and have taken kindly to their new home. 



NOTES ON THE NIDIFICATION of MEIWLA YINITINCTA, 



GOULD, AND OCYDROMUS SYLYESTRI8, SCLATER, 



FROM LORD HOWE ISLAND. 



By a. J. North. 



Mr. J. R. IcELY, the Visiting Magistrate of Lord Howe Island, 

 has lately returned to Sydney, bringing with him a number of 

 specimens acquired on behalf of the Trustees of the Australian 

 Museum, among which are the nest and eggs of Morula vinitincfa, 

 and the eggs of Ocydromiis sylvestris, and from which the follow- 

 ing descriptions are taken : — 



Merula vinitincta, Goidd, Vinous-tinted Blackbird. 



" Doctor IJird." Inhabitants of Lord Howe Island. 



A nest of this species, taken during the month of October, 

 1889, is elliptical in form, with a small cup-shaped depression 

 in the top, and is composed throughout of strips of palm leaves 

 aiul tibre of one of tlie species of Kcidia peculiar to the Island, 

 together with skeletons of leaves, but without any special 

 lining, it measures exteriorly seven inches in diameter by 

 five inches in depth ; internally, three inches in depth by two 

 and a half inches across. Mr. Icely states that the nest was 

 built in tlie branches of a shrub not far from the ground. 

 The eggs are two in number for a sitting, inclining to elongated 

 ovals in form, slightly pointed at one end, of a pale greenish-grey 

 ground colour, with freckles, dots, and longitudinal markings of 

 reddish-brown dispersed over the entire surface of the shell, in 

 some places a few nearly obsolete blotches of purplish-grey 

 appear. Length (A) 1-15 x 0-77 inch ; (B) M2 x 0-77 inch.* 

 Plate i., fig. 5. 



r.L.S., N.S.W., 2nd.Ser., Vol. iv., Due, 1889. 



