ACROCEPHALUS. 239 



coverts olive-hrown ; all the under surface dull white tinged with huff; sides of the body light faton 

 colour, becoming darker on the sides of the abdomen : under tail-coverts tvhite, slightly tinged tvith 

 fawn colour; tliiyhs faion-hroivn ; bill dark brotvn, the imdir mandible pale flsshy-hr own except at 

 the tip: legs and feet dark olive-grey. Total leugt/i in the flesh Ij' 2 inches, tviny ,'S'), tail 2'45, 

 bill 0-55, tarsus 0-07. 



Adult fkmalk — Similar in jdumaye to the male. 



Distribution. — Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania. 



/T^\HE range of the Reed-Warbler extends throughout south-eastern Queensland, eastern 

 -L New South Wales, \'ictoria, and South Australia. It is a strictly migratory species, 

 arriving in the neighbourhood of Sydney usually early in August, sometimes as late as the 

 middle of September. The time of their arrival, like that of many other migratory species, 

 depends to a certain extent on the season. If the winter is very mild and fine, they make their 

 appearance in the beginning of August, but if cold and protracted not until three or four weeks 

 later. Climatic influence is also an important factor as regards their departure. Generally 

 they leave the neighbourhood of Sydney towards tlie end of March or early in April; but in 

 the reed-bordered margins of Cook's River, I noted numbers of these birds in full song on the 

 29tli .Vpril, 1^94. The weather at that time was like spring, and on the same day I found 

 many nests of Mdiornis nova-hoUandia:, some containing young, others fresh eggs. On the 27th 

 May following. I saw young Butcher-birds (Cvaiticns torqitatus) taken from a nest at Enfield. 

 All migrants were unusually late m leaving that year, and the winter being very warm and 

 mild, some species were only absent for a few weeks. 



On their first arrival, these birds are extremely shy and wild. In company with Mr. J. A. 

 Thorpe we heard several of these birds in a reed-bordered stream at Seven Hills on the 

 2 1st September, 1897. Requiring a fresh specimen for mounting, we tried to dislodge them 

 from their cover, but they were very wary, and would not allow one to approach within 

 shooting range. ."Yfter being hunted for a time, tliey finally took refuge in some tall Eucalypti, 

 in open forest land, a specimen being eventually procured among the higher branches of a tree, 

 and fully one hundred yards from the creek. These birds usually frequent the reedy margins 

 of rivers and lagoons, but in the late summer months one year I observed them in my 

 garden in Pittoiponnn eiigeiioiilcs shrubs, fuUv a mile from the nearest water. They are plentiful 

 in the spring and summer months in the reed-bordered margins of Cook's River, near Sydney; 

 the Varra and Saltwater Rivers, near Melbourne; and the Torrens River at Adelaide. I have 

 also seen them in the Botanic Gardens of these cities. In New South Wales the range 

 extends into the Western District of the State, and Dr. A. M. Morgan has recorded it from 

 Laura, about one hundred and forty miles north of Adelaide. 



The stomachs of the birds I have examined contained the remains of small coleopterous 

 insects and minute fresh-water nrolluscs. 



It is almost impossible to convey any idea of the rich, melodious, and varied notes of this 

 species, which in a locality where the birds are plentiful are almost continuous throughout the 

 day. On bright moonlight nights, too, especially after a hot summer's day, it is refreshing to 

 hear the '• twitchee — twitchee — twitchee, — quarty — quarty — quarty," of the Reed Warbler, 

 which is frequently poured forth at intervals throughout the night. 



The nest is of a deep cup-shaped form, with the rim slightly narrower than it is in the 

 centre of the structure. Outwardly it is built of the soft paper-like sheaths of reeds, chiefly 

 Typha aiigustifolia, and decaying water weeds, and which are firmly woven around the stems 

 between which it is placed; the inside being neatly lined with fine dried grasses. An average 

 nest measures externally two inches and a half in diameter at the rim, three inches in the 

 centre, and four inches in height, the inner cup one inch and three-quarters across, two inches 



