•74 PTILONORHYNCHID.E 



/-f^HIS species frequents the dense coastal scrubs and contiguous mountain ranges of 

 1 tropical North-eastern Queensland, from the Bloomfield River in the north to the 

 neighbourhood of Cardwell in the south, where the type was obtained. 



During 1887, and again in 1889, Messrs. E. J. Cairn and R. Grant, collecting on behalf of 

 the Trustees of the Australian Museum, succeeded in obtaining a large series of these birds m 

 the neighbourhood of Cairns, and on different parts of the Bellenden Ker Range. 



Regarding this species, Mr. Grant has furnished me with the following notes: — "We 

 found the Spotted Cat-bird all through the scrubs near the coast, procuring specimens 

 within half a mile of the beach, although they are more freely distributed on the table-lands 

 of the Bellenden Ker Range, but are nowhere numerous. Unlike .-Elnrcrdiis viridis, we did not 

 find them congregating in large flocks, but from sunrise until almost dusk they would come 

 and go into the various fruit and berry-bearing trees in scattered pairs ; their mewing or cat- 

 like note, too, is clearer than that of the southern species. We found they resorted chiefly to 

 a particular kind of tree bearing a lemon-like fruit, of whicli they seemed exceedingly fond, 

 and were often seen in the same tree in company with the Tooth-hilled Bower-bird. The 

 contents of the stomachs of those we examined contained portions of the lemon-like fruit 

 previously referred to, ripe figs, and berries." 



From the northern limit of this bird's recorded range, ^Ir. F~rank Hislop writes me: — 

 "A£lHradus maculosus is very conmion in the mountain scrubs of the Bloomfield River District. 

 Its nest is a large open structure formed of sticks and leaves, and lined inside with thin twigs, 

 and is often placed on the side of the stem of a tree where some small leafy branches have 

 sprouted out, and form a support for it. Two eggs is the usual number laid for a sitting, but 1 

 have frequently taken nests containing three, and occasionally one with four eggs, or young 

 birds. These birds live chiefly on wild fruits and berries, and are very fond of the berries of 

 the Stinging-tree." 



The nest and eggs of this species were first obtained by Messrs. E. J. Cairn and R. Grant 

 on the 2nd December, 1887, in the fork of a sapling about seven feet from the ground, on the 

 Herberton Road, at a distance of thirty-two miles from Cairns. This nest is a neat bowl- 

 shapad structure, composed of long twigs and broad leaves, lined inside with twigs and 

 the dried wiry stems of a climbing plant ; on the outside several large and nearly perfect leaves 

 are worked in. and partially obscure one side of the nest. It measures externally seven inches 

 in diameter by four inches and a half in depth; internal diameter, four inches and three-quarters 

 by two inches and a half in depth. The eggs in this instance were two in number, and nearly 

 true ovals in form, tapering but slightly at one end, the surface of the shell being smooth and 

 -slightly glossy; they are of a uniform creamy white, and measure: — (A) 1-67 xrii inches; 

 (B) 1-63 X i-i inches. Both parent-birds were procured at the time of taking the eggs, which 

 were in an ad\ anced stage of incubation. 



Another nest, which contained three eggs, taken by the late Mr. W. S. Day, near Kuranda, 

 is externally constructed of much stronger material, being formed of thin sticks, twigs, and 

 long dead plant stems entwined around the usual thick layer of leaves intermingled with finer 

 plant stems, the inner cup being lined at the bottom only with fine twigs. External diameter 

 eight inches, depth six inches; the inner cup measuring five inches in diameter by a depth of 

 three inches. This nest is built against a leaning branch, and is held in position by several 

 thin branchlets which grow out of the main stem. 



Eggs two or three in number for a sitting, rarely four, varying in form from oval to 

 elongate-oval, some specimens tapering sharply towards the smaller end; the shell, as a rule, 

 being close-grained and its surface smooth and slightly lustrous. In colour they vary from a 

 rich cream to creamv-white. A set of two, taken in the Bloomfield River District on the 20th 



