NESTS AX'D EGGS OF AUSTKAUAK BIRDS. 



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Eggs. — Clutch, three ; round-oval in shape ; texture of shell very fine ; 

 surface slightly glossy ; colour, white, sparingly and faintly speckled with 

 chestnut or dull-red, the majority of the markings being on the apex. 

 Dimensions in inches of a pair; (1) -62 x 'd?, (2) '61 x -48. Most resemble 

 those of the Orangc-backied Wren (M. i/ieffiiinrrj/lialiin). 



OhservationK. — This extreme northern Wren is simply called " Lovely " 

 because there is no other name to describe its beauty. I beheve I saw 

 this beautiful bird in the Cardwell Scrubs ; if so, that would probably be 

 its southern limit. 



The male most resembles the giaceful Red-winged Wren (M. elegansj 

 of West Australia, but the matured female differs from those of all the 

 known species of the genera by her gay colouring, though not so beautiful 

 as the male, her upper surface being blue and the under fawn-coloiu-ed. 



.1/. Iii/pd/eiirux, Gould, folio. Supplement, plate 22, represents the young 

 male and the adult female of tho Lovely Wren (M. amahilis), which were 

 inadvertently described by Gould as a new species.* 



The type specimen of the Lovely Wren was collected at Cape York, 

 1849, dui-ing the surveying of that locality by H.M.S. "Rattlesnake." 

 I saw several perfect examples from the preci.se locality collected by 

 Mr. Harry Barnard in 1896. 



However, the eggs in my cabinet I received through the goodness of 

 Mr. Dudley Le Souef, who secured several sets from the Bloomfield River 

 district, and also a female, in spirits, to complete identification. 



Breeding months October to Februafy. 



149. — Malurus pulcherrimus, Gould. — (190) 



GILBERT VARIEGATED WREN. 



Figure. — Gould: Birds of Australia, fol , vol. iii., pi. 23. 



Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. iv . p. 294 



Previous Descriptions 0/ Eggs . ~ Gould : Birds of Australia, Handbook, 



vol. i., p. 326 (1865) : North : Proc. Linn. Soc, N.S. Wales, 



vol. iii., 2nd ser., p. 415 (18S8). 



Geiigrnphirn! Dis/rihutirtii. — Victoria, and South-west, and North-west 

 AustraUa. 



■ Regarding his mistaken deductions. Gould afterwards gave an explanation at 

 the end of the introduction to his folio Supplement, upon the evidence of Mr. James 

 Cockerell. the collector. As some persons still entertain doubt about M. hypoleucus being 

 the female of M . amahilis. the following field note by Mr. Harry Barnard may be of 

 interest ; — " When at Cape York, I always noticed one of the chestnut-shouldered 

 Wrens with several of the bluish ones, and took them to be male and female. I only 

 found one nest, which had three young birds The nest was built in a small shrub 

 about a foot from the ground, and was found by a bluish bird flying out of it. While 

 I was examining the nest, the bird was calling out, and in a few seconds one of the 

 beautiful chestnut-shouldered ones flew up. When I left, the birds were sitting together 

 on a small shrub." 



A nest of M. amahilis in Mr. D. Le Souef's collection is constructed of dry grass 

 and an .ibundance of whitish thistle-like down, and lined inside with fine grass. It 

 measures 6 inches in length by 3^ inches in breadth, and was placed in a broad-leafed 

 bush. 



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