NESTS AXV 7U,GS Of AVSri^Af.l AN H/HPS. c^g 



Tlio Pied Crow Sliiiko is amoug tho foster paroiits of tlie Clianiicl Bill 

 (Srytlirojjx). Mr. Hermann Lau states: "It was in such a nest that I 

 found, in October, 1879, at Warroo, 70 mites south-west from Yandilla (Q.). 

 two young of the Channel Bill. To get the nest a blackfellow had to cliop 

 the branch off.' The eggs described above wore collected by Mr. Lau, in 

 Queensland. 



The call notes of the Pied Crow Shrike sound very much like the words 

 " two and two are four." 



Usual breeding montlis from August to December. 



47- — Strepeka argut.v, Gould. — (90) 

 HILL CROW SHKIKE. 



Figure .^GouM : Birds of .Vustralia, fol., \ol. ii , pi. 44 

 Rtfertnce. — Cat, Birds Brit. Mus., vol. iii , p. 59, 



Previous Descriptions of Kggs. — Campbell : Southern Science Record 

 (1S82) ; North: .^iistn. Mus, Cat,, p. 57 (i88g). 



GfiJi/rajili teal Distrihutimi . — -Tasmania. 



Nest. — Open, outwardly roughly composed of sticks and twigs ; lined 

 inwardly with fine twigs, rootlets and grass, and usually situated in the 

 forked branches of a tall tree ( Eiinih/pt i 



Eyys. — Clutch, three to four; lengthened in form, tapering towards 

 one end ; texture of shell fairly fine ; surface, although somewhat rough, 

 slightly glossy ; colour, light puiplish-buft' or pale vinaceous brown, 

 blotched all over with light reddish-brown, pui-plish-brown, and a few 

 markings of umber. Dimensions in inches of odd examples: (1) l'84x 

 1-2, (2) 1-66 X 1-15. (Plate 5.) 



Observations. — The Hill Crow Shrike, specifically termed arguta by 

 Gould, on account of its loud ringing not«s of " dink, clink," several times 

 repeated, strongly reminding him of the distant sound of the strokes on 

 a blacksmith's anvil, is, I believe, peculiarly a Tasmanian form. 



Witli regard to its nidification, IMr. Arthur E. Brent, a local oologist, 

 informs me this finest and largest of the Strcj/erce sometimes lays the full 

 complement of four eggs, depositing them in a much rougher-constructed 

 nest than that usually built by its more lowland-loving neighbour, the 

 Sooty Crow Shrike (S. fuUginnsa ). 



All the nests Gould found of this species either contained young birds 

 or were without eggs. 



I stated in my " Manual " that the eggs of tliis species were the richest 

 in colouring of all those of the genus. I should have stated they were the 

 palest. 



