264 TIMELIID^. 



hour, however, it will ascend on to some dead branch higher than the surrounding vegetation 

 and pour forth a most melodious song, and as soon as it is finished dive into the low under- 

 f^rowth again, or more rarely fly off to some distance. Its notes are also sometimes uttered in a 

 very low strain as the bird trips over the fallen leaves or rapidly fiits from bush to bush. At 

 Middle Harbour, in sandy soil, sparsely covered with low herbage, I once counted seven of 

 these birds from where I stood. 



In August or September they leave these open parts and may be met with in pairs in the 

 more dense and higher scrub, or frequenting rocky boulders on the margin of it. At this 

 season, if one remains quiet, they are sometimes far from shy, and the male will utter its sweet 

 cheerful notes from the top of a low bush only a few yards away. On many occasions I have 

 searched the scrub for hours, meeting with perhaps a solitary individual which appeared to be 

 travelling, and by its actions, assured me that I was not witliin the vicinity of its nest. 

 These birds run with marvellous rapidity over the tops of rocks and large boulders. 



When perched, the chestnut-coloured rump is displayed to advantage, also the black sub- 

 termmal bar on the tail, which is carried erect. 



The stomachs of the birds I have examined contained only the remains of small insects, 

 principally beetles. 



A nest I found at Middle Harbour was a dome-shaped structure, with a small spout-like 

 entrance near the top, and was outwardly formed of strips of bark and grasses, and lined 

 inside principally with feathers, among them being a few from the breast of Pachycephala 

 gtitturalis. It measures externally six inches in height, by three inches and three-quarters in 

 diameter, and was placed in a thick bush (Isopogon aneathi folia ) , the bottom of the nest being 

 within four inches of the ground. 



Eggs usually two in number for a sitting, oval in form, the shell being close-grained and 

 its surface slightly lustrous. They vary in ground colour from a warm pinkish-white to a very 

 faint purplish-buff, which is freckled and blotched with irregular-shaped markings of light 

 chocolate-brown, confined principally to the thicker end where a more or less well defined zone 

 is formed. \ set of two, taken at Xorth Shore, measures: — Length (A) 077 x 0-58 inches; 

 (B) 076 X 0-57 inches. They resemble the eggs of Serkornis frontalis, more than those of other 

 species, but are slightly more pointed at the thinner end. 



Judging by the few nests of this bird found, the breeding season near Sydney commences 

 at the end of August, or early in September, and continues until the end of December. Two 

 fledgelings in the Australian Museum collection were obtained in the scrubby undergrowth at 

 Middle Harbour, in October, 1876. I also watched for some time a young bird being fed by 

 its parent, near Roseville, on the 6tii October, 1901. On attempting to secure it, the young 

 one feebly flew into some undergrowth and successfully managed to conceal itself, which it 

 repeated when I passed by the same place an hour afterwards. 



Fledgelings have the general colour abo\e rufescent-brovvn, which is of a richer shade of 

 rufous on the lower back and rump; upper tail-coverts chestnut; wings brown with a rufous 

 wash, the primary coverts with blackish tips, and the median and greater wing-coverts with 

 dull buffy-white tips; lores and eyebrow buffy-white; sides of the head brown washed with 

 rufous; chin, throat, and fore-neck dull rufous; remainder of the under surface dull white 

 washed with rufous, the latter colour being more distinct on the sides of the body; under tail- 

 coverts chestnut; thighs brown. Wing 175 inches. 



Semi-adult males have the spot in front of the eye brown, the white line above the eye 

 narrower, the quills more strongly washed with rufous, and the tips of the greater wing-coverts 

 rufescent or buffv-white. 



