NESTS A\D HUGS Of AUSTRALIAN Bl/iDS. 



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Nest. — Open, somewhat deep, with thick sides; outwardly composed 

 of twigs and broad leaves holding llic decomposed earthy matter of the 

 uestrfern ( Aapleiiium nidus); hned inside with line twigs and rootlets; 

 usually situated near the top of a sapling or small tapeiing tree, at a 

 height of from four to twenty feet, sheltered by the densest scrub. 

 Dimensions over all, 9 or 1 U inches by G or 7 inches in depth ; egg cavity, 

 5 inches across by 3 inches deep. 



Hijijs. — Clutch, two to three ; shape inchncd to oval ; texture of shell 

 somewhat tine ; surface glossy, and of a luiiform rich or dai-k-creamy 

 colour. Dimensions in inches of a full clutch: (1) 1-76 x 1-24, 

 (2) 1-75 X 1-23, (3) 1-72 x 1-23 ; of a pair : (1) 1-69 x 1-2, (2) 1-68 x M8. 



Observations. — This most extraordinary bird is a denizen of the thick 

 junglc-liko scrub wliich clothes portions of the coastal regions of New 

 South Wales and Southern Queensland. 



During my visit (1891) to the "Big Scrub" of the Richmond River 

 district, the peculiar voice of this bird was heard everywhere throughout 

 the locality. The cry is a real cat-like " mew-mew," with a strong accent 

 on the second " mew," as if someone iuul trodden on a cats tail. I hap- 

 pened to observe a pair of birds " caterwauling " about a nest, which was 

 situated some fifteen feet from the ground, in a small tree on the bank 

 of Pcarce's Creek. I cUmbed to the nest, only to be dis;ippointed in 

 finding a pair of young, clothed in down as black as ink, instead of a set 

 of shapely, crcam-coloiu'ed eggs. 



My companion, Mr. W. T. Bailey, and I found several other nests of 

 the Cat Bird in the course of coustniction, or ready for laying in, but we 

 had to turn om- backs ou the Big Scnib without securing such coveted eggs. 

 Tho nest of which the description is given above was felled by scrub- 

 fellers, the contents of course being smashed. However, a pair of eggs, 

 taken by Mr. James Gordon, soon followed me home. The nest was found 

 in a young buoyoug tree (Tarrietia), at a height of fifteen or sixteen feet 

 from the gi'oimd. — Date, November, 1891. Subsequently, Ml'. Bailey 

 kindly sent me from the same district a lustrous set of three eggs, taken 

 on the 23rd December, 1894. 



The first authenticated finds of Cat Birds' eggs were by Mr. Heni-y 

 R. Elvciy, Richmond River (1881), and by my venerable friend 

 Mr. Hermann Lau, South Queensland (1886). These finds were nob 

 reported at the time, and the credit fell to Mr. W. J. Grime for a nest 

 and egg which he procured in the Tweed River district, and forwarded 

 to the Australian Museiun. The following is Mr. Giimc's account, as 

 given in the Records of that institution: — "On the 4th October, 1890, 

 1 was out looking for nests, accompanied by a boy. I left him for a little 

 wliile to go farther in the scrub, and on my return he informed me he 

 had foimd a Cat Bird's nest with two eggs, one of which he showed me, 

 the other one he broke descending the tree. I went with him to the 

 nest, and found the old birds very savage, flying at us, and fluttering along 

 the ground. The nest was built in a three-pronged fork of a tree, about 



