jVESJ'S AXD eggs 01- AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. yj 



a new and local vaiiety of Talegallus (T . purpurdcdUis) has been estab- 

 lished, and the White-faced Robin ( Pccibxlryas tilhifacie^) recorded as au 

 adcUtioii to tlio Australian avi fauna ; hitherto it had only becu recorded 

 for New Guinea. 



lu liis original desciiption of the nest (also figured) and eggs in the 

 " Ibis, " Mr. Le Souef quotes the interesting field notes of Mr. Barnard, 

 who noticed, as a rule, these nests were placed in very conspicuous spots, 

 the birds selecting patches of sciiib where the undergrowth was very thin, 

 evidently with the intention, Mr. Barnard thought, of seeing the approach 

 of au enemy, as he did not in a single instance Ihish a bird from the nest. 

 Tlie birds were extremely shy and difficult to shoot. They did not seem 

 partial to any particular Idnd of tree to breed in, as nests were found in 

 pandanuses, palms, and small trees that had their tops broken off and 

 where shoots were springing ; or against the stems of trees where two or 

 three vines met. In one instance a nest was situated on the top of a stump 

 eighteen inches from the groimd. 



Through the generosity of the " syndicate '' I was presented \vith a fine 

 set of these rare eggs, besides being permitted to examine the whole 

 splendid series. The presentation set happened to be the fii'st actually 

 handled by Mr. Barnard, and probably the first of these eggs ever seen 

 by white man ; therefore, with such unicjue specimens, I must needs have 

 a special paragraph for this work, which was most kindly supplied by 

 Mr. Barnard after he had returned home. He says : — " I am glad you 

 have received a pair of the Rifle Bird's eggs. The day I found them 

 I was walking along the side of a hill covered with tall scrub, with very 

 little imdergrowth, though there was a good number of young palms about 

 (also Rifle Birds). I was thinking of retiu'uing to camp, when I saw a 

 nest — the one forwarded to Mr. Le Souef — in a young palm about fifty 

 yards ahead of me, wliich I took to be the nest of the small Sluike Tluiish, 

 but on reaching up and putting my hand in I was delighted to find two 

 Rifle Bird's eggs. I sat down by a fallen tree, and waited neai'ly three 

 hours before the female appeared, when I shot her. The nest was just 

 seven feet from the gi'ound. 



'' While waiting for the bird I heard a iiistle in the leaves behind me. 

 and, turning my head, saw a small iguana with a huge centipede wliich the 

 reptile was tiying to swallow. On my making a slight movement, the 

 iguana caught sight of me, and for a few seconds remained pei^fectly still, 

 holding the centipede by the head, while the latter vainly endeavoiued to 

 escape by twisting round the lizard's head. After watcliing me for a few 

 minutes the lizard ran up a tree for about ten feet, gave a sudden gulp, 

 and swallowed the centipede, then calmly chmbed to the top of the tree. 

 I should imagine the lizard felt a bit queer for a time, from the contortions 

 of the centipede, because it was a long way from being dead when it was 

 swallowed. " 



I hope I am not letting the secrets of the " syndicate " out of the bag 

 when I state that Mr. Barnard's exertions were crowned by the discoveiy 

 of no less than fourteen nests of the Albert Rifle Bird. I state tliis more 

 particularly to show the limits of the laying season, although possibly 

 some of the eggs found were the second laying in nests pre\'iously " rifled " 

 bv IMr Barnard. 



