254 ARTAMID.E. 



Adult male — General colour above slaty-grey luitli a dusky wash on the head, mantle and 

 back ; tail feathers ashy-grey tipped with tchite ; forehead, lores and sides of face black; above the eye 

 a broad white stripe; throat blackish-grey, the lower portion dark slaty-grey, remainder of the under 

 surface imious-chestnut, becoming slightly paler on the under tail-coverts ; bill light blue, black at tip; 

 legs and feet dark bluish -black ; iris black. Total length in the Jlcsh S inches, wing 5, tail S-2, bill 

 0-75, tarsus OS. 



Adult v^.'sim,^ — Differs from the male in having only a slight indication of the tvhite eyebrow ; 

 the lores and feathers around the eye black ; the entire throat and sides of the neck slaty-grey, and the 

 breast, abdomen and under tail-coverts pale vinous-chestnut. 



' Distribution— ^oxih-viestem Australia, Northern Territory of Soutli Australia, Queensland, 

 New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia. 



/T^HE White-eyebrowed Wood Swallow is a strictly migratory species to the south-eastern 

 JL portions of the continent, arriving in the coastal districts generally during the month 

 of October, and departing again after the breeding season is over at the end of January. It is, 

 however, irregular in its visits, occurring, perhaps, several seasons in succession, and then being 

 absent again for years. Usually this species is accompanied by Ai'tamus pcrsonatus, and the two 

 species may be found nesting in the same tree. Inland I have always observed the two species 

 in company with one another. 



For a period of nine years I had not observed the White-eyebrowed Wood Swallow in the 

 neighbourhood of Sydney, but in October, 1895, it appeared in large numbers in company with 

 Ai'tamus pcrsonatus, breeding freely about Ashfield, Canterbury and Belmore, New South Wales, 

 and in the following month I observed both species breeding around Melbourne, Victoria, but 

 the latter species was less numerous than the former. While previously resident in Melbourne, 

 I noted that Avtaiuus supevciliosus always appeared in large numbers during a period of severe 

 drought inland, where it is locally known as " Summer Bird." Since 1895 this species has visited 

 the western suburbs of Sydney, but in comparatively limited numbers, nearly every season ; it is 

 remarkable, however, that it does not occur in the coastal suburbs, and only once have I noted 

 a flock flying over Roseville. Open forest and well-grassed lands, studded here and there with 

 wide-spreading Eucalypti, are its favorite haunts, although it may be found frequenting and 

 breeding in public and private gardens. 



It utters an oft-repeated sweet and clear whistling-note, and the sound produced by a large 

 flock of these birds on the wing, enables one to easily recognise the species again, although it 

 may not liave been heard for many years. 



Insects of various kinds, and their larviE, constitute the food of this species. So far as my 

 experience goes, it is not an inveterate bee destroyer like Artaiuus sonlidus. On the ist January, 

 1897, in Goodlet's Bush, I saw an adult male chase and capture with outstretched claws, a 

 large Cicada. It flew about with the insect in its claws, the latter emitting all the time its shrill 

 note. The Wood Swallow descended to the ground several times, on each occasion giving the 

 insect a few vigorous pecks, and at last succeeded in killing it. 



Mr. H. L. White, of Belltrees, Scone, New South Wales, has kindly sent me the following 

 notes : — " Ai'tamus superciliosus has been noted, for many years, to arrive here during October, 

 breeding operations being in full swing all through November and into December, migration 

 taking place in the early autumn. The choice of a nesting site appears to be a matter of perfect 

 indifference, the most exposed positions being frequently selected. In 1907 swarms of the birds 

 visited us, and nests were met with almost anywhere, stumps, mortice or knot holes in posts, 

 shrubs and fruit trees in gardens, in fact wherever it was possible to place a nest. As far as 

 building and laying was concerned the presence of traffic made no difference, but a noticeable 

 peculiarity was that the eggs were usually deserted when the sitting bird was much disturbed in 



