128 A'ESJ'S AND EGGS 01' AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



Gould, who dedicated tliis Flycatcher to his naturalist friend, 

 Dr. Kaup, of Darmstadt, entertained some doubt about the propriety of 

 placing the bird in the genus Arsi-x. His doubts appear to be well- 

 grounded, because the females of the tiiic Arses are dusky-brown or 

 rufous in colour, whereas the sexes of hawpi seem to bo alike. 



The nests of this and the succeeding species, as a picture, make a rare 

 and interesting couplet. (See illustration.) 



103. — Arses lore.\lis, De Vis. 

 FRILL-NECKED FLYCATCHER. 



Reference — Proc. Linn. Soc, N.S. Wales, vol. x., 2nd ser., p. 171, 

 Previous Description of Eggs — Le Souef : Ibis. p. 397 (1897). 



Geographical Distrihutiuii. — North Queensland. 



NeM. — Like a tiny hammock, slung on the bight of a creeper ; com- 

 posed of dark fibre and nisty-colom'ed portions (stems) of dead flowers, 

 ornamented outwardly with silveiy-colovu-cd lichen stuck on with spiders' 

 web; lined with fine, dark-brown wire-like rootlets and fibre. Dimensions 

 over all, 2| inches by 11 to 3 inches in depth; egg cavity, 1| inches across 

 by H inches deep. 



Eggs. — Clutch, two usually ; inclined to oval in shape ; texture 

 of shell fine ; surface slightly glossy ; colour, delicate pinkish 

 white, spotted and blotched, chiefly on the apex, with soft markings of 

 pinkish-red and purple. Dimensions in inches of a proper clutch : 

 (1) -TSx-BS, (2) •74X-54. 



Observations. — For the addition of this new and interesting Flycatcher 

 to our avi-fauna we have to refer to Mr. De Vis's reference, given above. 

 The first specimen was procured by Mr. Kendall Broadbent, at Cape York, 

 March, 1895. Its habits and haunts are similar to those of A. laupi. 

 Its nest was discovered the following year. 



Mr. Le Souef, although he has inadvertently misconstrued Mr. De Vis's 

 nomenclature, writes : — •" The nest awd two eggs of this pretty Frill- 

 necked Flycatcher were found at Somerset, Cape York, by 

 Mr. H. G. Barnard, on December 12th, 1896. He states that ' it was 

 found in the scnib, built between two thin vines, which hung down from 

 the trees above, and was about tliii-ty feet from the gi'ound. When on 

 the nest the birds seem very tame, almost letting one catch them before 

 fl3arg, though otherwise they are very shy.' ' 



A second nest was found by Mr. Barnard on 2nd January following. 

 He also secured several good .skins of the bird. 



The nests are of singular beauty, with their ornamentation of green 

 lichen, hanging like a tiny basket or a hammock in the scrub. A beautiful 

 photograph, by Mr. Le Souef, of this rare nest, foimd by Mr. Barnard, 

 is reproduced in the "Ibis," July, 1897. 



