338 TIMELIID.E. 



in tea-trees and turpentines, within hand's reach, and on one occasion twelve feet from 

 the ground in the dead leafy top of a gum sapling that had the stem cut through close to 

 the roots, and was held obliquely in position by falling across another partially-felled tree. 

 At Enfield, in September, 1897, I found no less than six new nests, and all were hidden near 

 the ground in the dead leafy tops of gum-trees, which had been felled in the densest part of 

 the scrub. At Roseville, in August, 1903, a pair bred within a few yards of the back fence of 

 my house. 



The eggs are usually two, very rarely three in number for a sitting, oval or elongate-oval 

 in form, the shell being close-grained, smooth, and slightly lustrous. They vary in ground 

 colour from pale blue to a delicate bluish -white, over which are distributed small black spots 

 and blotches, a few of them being duller in colour and appearing as if beneath the surface of 

 the shell; others are boldly blotched, or the markings consist of crescents, figures, short wavy 

 lines, and small irregular-shaped patches of black, predominating on some specimens at the 

 thicker end, where they assume a more or less well defined cap or zone. A remarkably hand- 

 some broken egg of this species, which I found beneath a nest at Xewington, had only a broad 

 band formed of purplish-black cross-lines on the thicker end; others have numerous minute black 

 dots and strealcs, appearing as if they had been placed on the shell with a finely-pointed pen, 

 and some are almost devoid of markings. .\s is ever the case with pale blue eggs having semi- 

 transparent shells, the eggs of this species are more beautiful and of a deeper ground colour 

 immediately after being emptied of their contents, but when perfectly dry this richness fades 

 out, and the same tint is assumed as when first found in the nest. A set taken at Enfield on 

 the 13th September, 1893, measures: — (A) 1-15 x 0-77 inches; (B) i'i2xo'78 inches. Another 

 set of two, taken on the 22nd December, 1897, measures alike 1x075 inches. A set of 

 two, taken at Chatswood on the 7th September, 1898, measures: — (A) i-o8xo-73 inches; (B) 

 1-09 x 0-75 inches. 



The female seldom sits so close as to be flushed from the nest unless it contains eggs in an 

 advanced stage of incubation; but the cries of both birds haunting the spot are almost certain 

 indications that they have a nest, or young ones, in the vicinity. When their nests are built low 

 down, many old birds are killed by cats or other enemies. While collecting near the Parramatta 

 River with Mr. S. W. Moore, on the 2nd September, 1893, we found four nests of this species 

 with the eggs recently broken, and a quantity of the body and tail feathers of an adult bird 

 strewn underneath each nest. Later on in the afternoon, Mr. Moore saw a large domestic 

 cat in the scrub, evidently run wild, and which we believed to be the destroyer of these 

 birds. 



When the young are just able to leave the nest, should any one approach near them, 

 all shyness is thrown off by the old birds, and they exhibit every symptom of parental 

 solicitude for their family. With outspread wings and expanded tail they run hither and 

 thither through the scrub, uttering at the same time harsh grating cries of distress. The 

 young are, however, adepts in concealing themselves among the thick undergrowth or under 

 debris. Attracted by the cries of one I caught at Eastwood, the old birds ventured so close 

 that I could have almost captured them with my hands before I restored the young one 

 to liberty. 



Fledgelings are of a uniform rich brown, and acquire a slight olive tinge on the back and a 

 distinct olive wash on the upper tail-coverts and tail shortly after leaving the nest. Slightly 

 older birds have the crest feathers dark brown, the back and tail more strongly washed with 

 olive-green, the latter also having the three outermost feathers indistinctly tipped with white; 

 all the under surface ashy-brown with a reddish wash to the feathers. Some time elapses before 

 young birds acquire the black head and crest, white cheeks, and white feathers on the centre 

 of the body like the adult. 



