GYMSORIIINA. 7-i 



Eggs usually four, sometimes three, and occasionally five in number for a sitting, extremely 

 variable in colour and indistinguishable from those of G. tibicen. To the different types there 

 described may be added some less frequently found of the present species. A very pale olive- 

 brown ground colour with light umber clouded spots and blotches and underlying markings of 

 dull ashy-grey. Ground colour reddish-buff, boldly spotted and blotched with rich reddish- 

 brown and purplish-red, the latter appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell. Ground 

 colour dull greenish-grey, with spots, streaks, and scratches of umber-brown intermingled with 

 similar underlying markings of dark brown and ashy-grey. A very pale stone-grey ground 

 colour, spotted and blotched with umber and sepia-brown. Eggs are also found of a uniform 

 ground colour, with little or no indication of surface spots or other markings. A set of three 

 taken by 'Mx. Joseph Gabriel, at Werribee, \'ictoria. on the 12th August, 1895, measures: — 

 Length (A) 1-57 x r-o8 inches; (B) i-54_ x i-ii inches; (C) 1-38 x i-og inches. Another set 

 taken by Mr. Gabriel in the same locality, measures : — Length (A) 1-7 x 1-03 inches; [li) 1-65 

 x i-o.S inches; (C) 1-63 x 1-12 inches. 



Although both Gyiunorhiua tibicen and G. Icuconota are included in the Bird Protection Acts 

 of the Southern Australian States, the eggs of these species are usually more frequently found 

 in the indiscriminate and useless collections formed by bird-nesting boys in country districts, 

 than those of any other Australian birds. 



On the i8th December, 1896, I received two young birds, a male and a female from ^Mr. 

 A. M. N. Rose, taken on Boloco Station, Snowy River, New South Wales. They were seven 

 weeks old, the male having the back slaty-grey, the apical portions of the feathers shaded with 

 black and their tips pale brownish-white, the white upper wing-coverts having a subterminal 

 black bar and tipped with white. The female was similar, but had the feathers on the back 

 more strongly washed with black. On the ist February, 1897 the male died, its plumage had 

 not altered much, but the back of its head and neck was a pure white. On the 21st February, 

 the female was undergoing the first moult and acquiring the full adult plumage, moulting some 

 of the feathers on her back which were replaced with others of a clear french-grey with a narrow 

 black shaft line, which were very conspicuous among her old feathers. Further observations 

 were prevented by the loss of the bird shortly after completing the first moult. 



Many pages might be written without e.xhausting the amount of damage or mischievous 

 pranks, one of these birds in a state of semi-domestication could perform. An old adult male 

 I had that was occasionally allowed the run of the garden, used to delight in pulling up every- 

 thing it saw me plant. Another favourite pastime, was to stealthily creep up behind a bull-dog 

 and suddenly tweak his tail, and with an exultant note, beat a hasty and safe retreat. This 

 bird, the terror of the place, at last met his match. Fowls it would attack with its powerful 

 mandibles and easily drive away, but a newcomer, got into the garden one day, which the bird 

 attempted to eject. The young game-hen, for such it was, with lowered head quietly stood her 

 ground, and waited for the Magpie, and before the latter was aware of it, was suddenly turned 

 over on his back by the hen using her legs, the operation being repeated immediately it got 

 on its feet again. 



The normal breeding season commences in July and continues until the end of December. 

 This species usually defends its nest with great energy, but on several occasions I have seen the 

 male quietly feeding out on the plains and apparently unconcerned at the loud cries of distress 

 of the female, who was being robbed of her eggs a short distance away. It used to breed in 

 Albert Park, and in the tea-tree scrub at the mouth of the Yarra River near Melbourne, during 

 my early collecting days, and more freely, recently at Essendon, Keilor, Werribee, and 

 Laverton. On the level, stone walled plains of Keilor and Deer Park, small ffocks of these 

 birds disturbed by a passing vehicle or train, form a conspicuous and pleasing feature in an 



