NESTS AND EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



145 



■^.'/.'/'•'- — Clutch, three, occasionally four; inclined to pyrifonn or 

 roundish, nuuh pointed at one end ; texture of shell fine ; surface glossy ; 

 colour, variable, usually a uniform dull-green or olive, with a darker shaidc 

 of the same colour or an indistinct belt round the apex. Dimensions in 

 inches of a pair: (1) -8 x -62, (2) -8 x -6. (riate 8.) 



Observations. — The Hooded Robin takes its name from its black head, 

 tho rest of the plumage being pied or black and white. The female is 

 brownish-gi-ey. In both sexes the eyes, bill, and feet are blaclcish-brown. 

 Total length, 6 inches; wing, 3§ inches; tail, 1\ inches; bill, ;/ inch. 



Tlic Hooded Robin is generally dispersed in pairs in the open forest 

 country over nearly tho whole of the Continent, but exhibits a preference 

 to the more interior portion, with intervening tracts of dwarf timber. 



A nest of this species I observed in the open was at Mordialloc, 

 on tho shores of Port Phillip Bay. The nest was situated in a fork of a 

 thick, low bush (Ijepioxpermum), and contained a pair of fledglings, winch 

 were prettily streaked with grey, with under parts lighter in colour. 

 Date, 13tli October, 1888. Another nest, also containing young, was 

 noticed in the Mallee, in some short suckers on the base of a bull-oak 

 ( C(i<uiiriti(i ). 



On the Darling Downs, Mr. Lau says: — "The Black Robin is a lover 

 of little trees growing on sandy soil. There this bird is always to be found, 

 chirping in low, moumfid voice. The choice for site of nidification falls 

 cither to a three-forked stem or the upper hollow of a small stump, where 

 the nest, with skilful architeetui-e, is most securely placed. Situation 

 usually low; two eggs are laid. Western Creek, September, 1864." 



As might have been expected, Hooded Robins were observed throughout 

 the jovmiey in the north-west by the Calvert Expedition. Mr. Keartland 

 remarks: — "On October 26th I found a nest of this Robin, containing 

 two eggs. It was placed on the horizontal branch of a desert gum-tree, 

 about six feet from the ground. It was a cup-shaped structure, built of 

 strips of bark, cob-webs and fine grass. Although tlie rope holding our 

 tai-paulin was tied to the branch, the birds visited and sat on the nest 

 several times during the day. The eggs were dark oUve-green, with a 

 reddish-brown tinge at the larger end. Other birds of this species were 

 subsequently seen near the Fitzroy River." 



Tho following valuable note by Mr. Robei-t Hall, relating to the 

 Hooded Robin, appeared in the "Victorian Naturalist," June, 1897: — 



" In a short paper on the plumage of Robins (" Victorian Naturalist," 

 vol. xiii., p. 116) I mentioned, on the .authority of Mr. J. A. Hill, that 

 the Hooded Robin, P. hicolnr, V. and H., rears its first family wliile in 

 immature plumage. That observer has now furaishod me with further 

 details of the nesting, together with the skin of the male bird, which was 

 engaged in paternal attentions duiing nesting. In this the pronounced 

 black marldiigs of the adult are represented by grey in the young bud, 

 except the interscapulum, wliich has two longitudinal blotchings of black, 

 the upper tail coverts darker than the grey, but not an intense black, 

 and the scapulars an indefinite white, broadly tipped with grey instead of 

 the strong white of fuller age. All the remaining indistinct whites will 

 doubtless disappear with the next moult, except the under tail coverts, 

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