EPHTHIANURA 351 



the first rains since the spring of 1901, and soon became exceedingly numerous. During a trip 

 which I took with Mr. J. R. Godfrey, on 9th November, 1903, to Horse Lal<e, about forty 

 miles out on the Menindie track, the saU-bush flats bordering the road in places — veritable 

 gardens of grasses and flowering herbage — contained thousands of both Ephthiamiva aitrifrons 

 and E. tricolor, rising in twos, and threes, and small family parties, from almost every bush for 

 miles. They were then nesting, and many young birds were also flying about. Many nests 

 containing fresh eggs were obtained late in December and early in January. The crops of those 

 examined contained the remains of grasshoppers and other insects. Both species, E. tricolor 

 and E. aurifvons differ from E. nlbifrons, in that they run more on the ground. They are very 

 shy, and will not allow any one to approach them closely, running in and out between the 

 salt-bush, and flying off' when closely pressed. When young birds, or a nest containing young 

 ones are approached, the parent birds will flap along the ground, and endeavour in the most 

 approved plover fashion to lure one away from their little ones. The nests are usually built of 

 fine grasses and rootlets, the finer material lining the egg cavity, and are placed in the top of a 

 salt-bush." 



Mr. G. A. Keartland writes me as follows: — " Ephthianitra anrifrons is always most plentiful 

 near rivers, lakes, or swamps. In Central Australia I found them in the vicinity of the 

 Finke River, near Crown Point. They seem to be more sociable than E. tricolor, and are 

 usually found in small flocks or pairs. Near Lake Way, Western Australia, these birds were 

 numerous, and were very active in clinging to the twigs or grass-stalks standing in the water, 

 or in running along the margins capturing insects. The birds were very tame, and permitted 

 persons to approach close to them before taking flight. They were not observed in our journey 

 across the desert, but they appeared about the swamps at the junction of the Fitzroy and 

 Margaret Rivers, in North-western Australia, immediately after the tropical rains in February. 

 Like all the genus, they build their nests close to the ground in any suitable low bush." 



From North-western Australia, Mr. Tom Carter sends me the following note: — "Ephthianura 

 anrifrons is a somewhat regular visitor to the coast, but only in limited numbers, being usually 

 seen singly or in pairs. I have noted its occurrence at Point Cloates in January, February, 

 March, April, July, August, and October, in various years. I have also seen it inland on 

 salt-bush and samphire flats." 



The nest is a neat open cup-shaped structure, externally formed of flowering plant-stalks, 

 rootlets, and soft dried grasses, the inside being sparingly lined with very fine rootlets. An 

 average nest measures three inches and a half in external diameter by two inches in depth, the 

 inner cup measuring two inches and a quarter in diameter by one inch and a half in depth. It 

 is built generally within a few inches of the ground in a low bush, and in western New South 

 Wales frequently in a salt-bush or cotton-bush. 



The eggs are usually three in number for a sitting, oval in form, the shell being close- 

 grained, smooth, and slightly lustrous. They are pure white when blown, sprinkled over 

 with dots and spots varying from very pale to dark purplish-red; some specimens have 

 penumbral markings, others small irregular-shaped blotches, but as a rule in all they pre- 

 dominate on the thicker end. A set of three, taken at Mossgiel, New South Wales, in October, 

 1886, measures as follows:— Length (A) 0-67 x 0-48 inches; (B) o'65 x 0-46 inches; (C) 07 x 

 0-49 inches. Another set, taken by Mr. C. E. Cowle at Crown Point, Finke River, Central 

 Australia, in December, 1899, measures: — Length (A) o-68 x 0-5 inches; (B) 0-67 x 0-52 inches; 

 (C) 0-69 X 0-5 inches. Dr. A. Chenery sends me a note that after heavy rains in February, he 

 obtained a set of eggs of this species, also one of Ephthianura albifrons, to the north-west of Port 

 Augusta, South Australia, on the 22nd April, lyoi. 



