286 A'ESTS A;V7J EGGS OF AVSTKALIAN BIRDS. 



Nest. — Similai- to tliat of the E. tricolor ; cup-shaped, constructed of 

 fine twigs and grasses ; Uned inside witli fine grass. Ustially placed near 

 tlie gi'oimd in a cotton, salt, or other low bush in open counti-y or plains. 

 This species sometimes nests in company with E. triro/or. Dimensions 

 over all : 3i inches by 2A inches in depth ; egg cavity, about 2 inches 

 across by 1 inch deep. 



Effff.f. — Clutch, three usually, four occasionally ; oval in shape ; 

 texture of shell fine ; siu-face slightly glossy ; colour, pinkish-white, 

 beautifully spotted, particularly around the apex, with pinkish-red and 

 pui-ple. Dimensions in inches of a proper clutch: (1) -71 x -52, 

 (2) -7 X -52, (3) -7 X -51. (Plate 11.) 



Oh/tervatiniiK. — The Orange-fronted Bush Chat is another " wee 

 beauty of the desert interior, cnjojang a range probably co-extensive 

 with its beautiful cousin the Tricoloured variety. On the authority of 

 Mr. Tom Carter I have recorded it for the vicinity of the North-west 

 Cape. Mr. Keartland also foimd it in the North-west desert, and gives 

 us a pretty picture, where at Lake Wav, being particularly numerous, 

 they were chnging to twigs and rushes projecting above the surface of 

 the water, or were seen mingling with Dottrels on the damp sandy 

 shores. 



In the back blocks, where it appears in spring in the cotton-bush and 

 salt-bush country, the Orange-fronted Chat is called the " Native 

 Canary," and usually builds in the " major " salt-bush, never in the 

 small. The eggs in my collection are from Riverina, and were taken 

 by Mr. J. T. Gillespie, October. 1886. I had others kindly sent me by 

 Mr. Leslie Cameron, taken in the same region. I believe the Orange- 

 fronted Chat is occasionallv an autumn breeder. 



233. — Ephthianura crocea, Castelnau and Ramsay. 



YELLOW-BREASTED BUSH CHAT. 



Figure. — Gould-Sharpe : Birds of New Guinea, vol iii., pi. 14. 

 Reference. — Cat. Birds Brit. Mus., vol. vii., p. 66g. 



Previous Description of Eg^s. — North : Proc. Linn. See, N.S. Wales, 

 vol. xxiii., p. 380 (iSgS) 



Geographical Distrihution. — North-west Australia. Noi-them Tei-ri- 

 tory and North Queensland. 



Nest. — Small, cup-shaped ; in-egularly formed on the outside with thin 

 dried stalks of herbaceous plants, and lined inside vnth fine wiry grasses 

 and rootlets (North). 



Eggs. — Clutch, three ; oval in fonn ; colour, pure white, with minute 

 dots and spots of blackish-red sparingly distributed over the siu^face, and 

 undistinguishable, except for their smaller size, from those of E . aiiri- 

 fr<,»s. Dimensions in inches: (1) -62 x -4,5, (2) -62 x -44, (3) -6 x -43 

 (North). 



