250 NESTS AND EGGS Of AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 



According to the Catalogxie of the Australian Museum, Mr. George 

 Masters procured nests and eggs of this species when at King George's 

 Sound, Western Australia, in December, 18G8, confirming the 

 descriptions given by Gould from specimens previously collected by 

 Gilbert. 



The specimens of eggs in my cabinet came from the Western 

 Territory. 



Breeding months September to December. 



201. — Sericornis osculans, Gould. — (215) 

 SPOTTED-THROATED SCEUB WREN. 



Figure. — CoxxXdi: Birds of Australia, fol., vol. iii., p. 48. 

 Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol , vii., p. 309. 



Previous Descriptions 0/ Eggs. — Campbell : Southern Science Record 

 (i8.'<2) ; North: .^ustn, Mus. Cat., p. 131 (18S9). 



Geographical Distrihutiun. — Victoria and South Australia. 



Nest. — Similar to that of the White-browed Scrub Wren 

 ^jS'. frontalis). Usually placed low in scrub, sometimes embedded in 

 moss or grass upon the ground or on a sloping bank. 



Bf/(js. — Clutch, three ; inclined to oval iu form , texture of shell 

 fine ; surface glossy ; colour, a warmish wash or buffy-wliite, finely 

 freckled with purplish-brown spots, wliich thicken towards the larger 

 end, where they form a zone. Much resemble those of <S'. fronfalis. 

 Dimensions in inches of a pair : (1) -8 x -6, (2) -79 x '56. 



Ohservatioiu. — This Scinb Wren has a southern habitat restricted, 

 as far as yet discovered, to Victoria and South Australia. 



As Gould states, it is nearly allied to the White-browed Scrub 

 Wren (S. frontalis) and the Brown Scrub Wren (S. liumilis) and for 

 that reason its identity is perplexing to collectors. The best method 

 I found to understand the distinctive characters of each was to procm-e 

 the typical species from their respective strongholds, say, the White- 

 browed from New South Wales, the Allied from the scnibs of Victoria, 

 and the Brown from Tasmania. 



The Allied may be identified by having numerous distinct longi- 

 tudinal blotches of black on the throat, hence perhaps the better 

 vernacular name. Spotted-throated Scnib Wren. 



In a mossy sidhng of the Werribee Gorge, a Spotted-throated Scrub 

 Wren flew out at my feet from a nest with the entrance flush with 

 stu'face of the gi'ound. Had, it not been for the bird flying out. the nest 

 would have been passed over. However, there is just a bai'e possibility 

 that the bird may have been the ordinai-y <S'. frontalis, with spottings 

 on the throat, which, according to Dr. Sharpe, are only a sign of age. 



