^'ESTS AND EGGS Oh AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. ijg 



^'Jil"- — CluUli, three, occasionally four ; round oval in shape, or 

 more pointed at one end ; toxtiu'o of shell fine ; surface slightly glossy ; 

 colour, delicate greenish-wliitc, spotted, particularly in the fomi of a broad 

 belt about the upper quarter, with umber and grey. Dimensions in inches 

 of a pair: (1) "71 x -53, (2) -Tlx-oS; of a proper clutch: (1) -76 x -58, 

 (•J), 7G X -57, (3) -74 x -58. 



Observations. — All the beauty and adornment are usually found in 

 male Robins, the females being plain, wee bodies in grey or drab dresses. 

 The male Piuk-brcastcd Robin on throat, head, and upper surface is 

 soft black, with a brownish shade on the wings ; brea.st and abdomen pink, 

 passing into white on the vent and under tail coverts. There is a small 

 white spot in the centre of the forehead, while, as in nearly all Robins, 

 the lustrous eyes are dark, with bill and legs to match. Total length, 

 4'( inches; wing, 2j; inches; tail, 2A inches; bill, ,',. inch. 



The lovely Pink-breasted Robin, with its delicate nature and disposi- 

 tion, prefers to dwell in the " dim rehgious light " of heavy forest 

 solitudes. It may also be found in the dark shade of a gully, or in " some 

 secret glen, secluded from the sua," in more open timbered country. 

 Its geographical range is more southern than its compeer, the Rose- 

 breasted Robin, being limited to Victoria and South Australia, with 

 insular quarters in Tasmania and on some of the larger inteiinodiatc islands 

 iu Bass Strait, notably King Island and Flinders Island. 



A nest with eggs which I received from Mr. G. K. Hinsby, Tasmania, 

 was taken by that collector in one of the gullies under Mount Wellington, 

 near where Gould procured his types both of birds and eggs. 



The Rink-breasted Robin has been mentioned somewhat prominently 

 on two occasions in connection with expeditions of the Field Naturalists' 

 Club of Victoria. First, the Yan-a Falls' trip, when a nest and male bird 

 were procured in the shades of a beech forest near that out-of-the-way 

 locality, the eggs being the first authenticated examples taken on the 

 mainland. And again, iu connection with the ascent of Mount Strzelecki, 

 Flindei-s Island, when a Pink Robin was noted in a dewy f em-tree gully 

 near the summit of that double-headed peak. 



On the authority of Mr. A. E. Brent, I state the Pink Robin lays four 

 eggs occasionally in Tasmania. Mr. Brent infonns me he has taken three 

 nests containing each a quartet, and particularises one — the last — when 

 he took a beautifully-made nest from the fork of a musk-tree, on the 15th 

 October, 1894. 



Usual breeding months October to December. 



114 — Petrceca rosea, Gould. — (164) 

 ROSE-BREASTED ROBIN. 



Fi^KK.— Gould : Birds of Australia, fol., vol. iii., pi. 2. 



Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. iv., p. 170. 



Previous Descriptions of Eggs. — North : Victorian Naturalist (1896) ; 

 Campbell: Geelong Naturalist (1896). 



Geographical Distribution. — Queensland, New South Wales, and 

 Victoria. 



