XE\TS AiVD EGGS OF AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



i-lg 



Nest. — Oval in form, with side entrance ; composed of shix-ds of stringy- 

 bark, &c., sometimes entirely of grasses; lined inside with soft material 

 such as feathers, thistle-down, &c. Usually situated among the topmost 

 branchlets of a scnibby bush, suspended in a small tree, or placed in a 

 grass tussock, according to circumstances. Dimensions ; breadth, 3 

 inches ; length, 5 to G inches ; entrance, 1 inch across. 



Eggs. — Clutch, tlu'ce to four ; elongated in form ; texture exceedingly 

 fine ; surface sUghtly glossy ; colour, warniisli-white, finely freckled with 

 reddish-brown and dull-pui-plc, the markings being thickest on the apex. 

 Dimensions in inches of a proper clutch: (1) -7 x -48 (2) '69 x "47, 

 (3) 65 X 48 ; another set has a pure white ground, sparingly and minutely 

 freckled with dai-k-brown on the larger end : (1) -69 x -48, (2) -68 x '48, 

 (3) -68 X -48. 



Observations. — This, the brightest coloured of the smaller Acanthizas, 

 enjoys a habitat nearly as extensive as that of the Little Brown Tit, but 

 is not so numerous, and is more of an open timber dweller. 



Gould mentions the nest of the Little Yellow Tit, but not the coloiu' 

 and number of the eggs. 



Dr. Ramsay states that in New South Wales : — " The nest of this 

 species is not by any means as neat a structure as that of A. lineata; 

 it is, moreover, placed in situations quite difi^erent, the entrance having 

 its edges but roughly finished off, and not covered with any hood. 



" Tlie Yellow Acanthiza shows a decided pi-efcreuce for the tops of the 

 native tea-trees, but its nest may also be foimd in various other trees and 

 shrubs, but always placed among the outside twigs. We have taken 

 nests from a species of acacia overhanging the creeks and rivers. Some- 

 times they are wholly composed of fine strips of stringy-bai-k, which, when 

 new, give them a reddish-brown appearance. At other times they are 

 composed of di-y gi-ass, a gi-cat quantity of white cob-webs being used in 

 all cases. 



" The birds may be found breeding in September and the three 

 following months, and are frequently the foster-parents of Chalcococcyx 

 plagusus and C. hasalis (Bronze Cuckoos)." 



184. — jvcanthiza. iNORNATA, Gould. — (225) 



PLAIN-COLOURED TIT. 



Figure— Gould : Birds of .\ustralia, fol , vol. iii., pi. 59. 



Reference.— CSit. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. vii., p. 293. 



Previous Descriptions 0/ Eggs.— Gou\d : Birds of Australia (1848K also 



Handbook, vol. i., p. 371 (1865); North: Proc. Linn Soc, 



N.S. Wales, vol. ii., 2nd ser., p. 406 {1887). 



Geiigraphicnl DUtrihufidn. — South and West Australia. 



Nest. — Globular, with side entrance near top; composed chiefly of 



