22 RECORDS OF THE AUSTRALIAN MUSEUM. 



it appeared in sight left the nest in an opposite direction from that 

 in which the bird about to resume its duties was approaching. 

 On the latter reaching the nest it immediately took possession of 

 it and invariably, while it contained eggs, rubbed each side of 

 its head and bill half way round the outside of the nest, back- 

 wards and forwards several times to get rid of the legs and any 

 portion of i 1 1 ^ - cts attached to its bill. The bird which we took 

 to be the male, being larger, and sitting higher up in the nest, 

 would respond to either Mrs. North's or my call of "Sweet pretty 

 creature," but would not do so to strangers. The period of 

 incubation lasted fourteen days, the three eggs being hatched on 

 the morning of the 28th September. 



The newly hatched young are queer looking yellowish-white 

 creatures with the feather tracts visible on the centre of the head 

 and back. At that early stage of their existence, and only a 

 few hours old, they mutely appealed for food with widely distended 

 mouth. The labours of the parents were now increased, and both 

 birds were busily engaged supplying their wants. 



Sanitation is perfect, and cleanliness must be an instinct, for 

 I first observed, when they were five days old, these callow help- 

 less young, with eyes yet unopened, take the voidings of each 

 other in their mouths, when with upturned head and open mouth, 

 it was taken by a parent in its bill and dropped in the garden a 

 few' yards away. When the young were ten days old and 

 feathered the voidings were taken direct by the adult when ejected 

 by the young. At this stage the young birds well filled the 

 nest, and were fed by the parents until dusk, when the old pair 

 of birds left them for the night, roosting on an apricot tree in the 

 garden, and returning to feed them early next morning. 



The young birds were fed by their parents regularly as a rule 

 three times a clay, in the early morning, noon, and just before 

 sundown, both old birds working assiduously to satisfy their 

 cravings, insects being quickly obtained on a manure heap in 

 the garden. Shortly before the young ones left the nest they 

 were fed on butterflies, and, in one instance, with the compara- 

 tively large and beautiful blue and black Wanderer (Papilio 

 sarpedon) after the wings had been torn off" the body. During 

 the whole of the time that the young ones were in the nest, the 

 parents were exceedingly aggressive, swooping down on an 

 intruder and giving vicious snaps with their bills. They chased 

 a Raven away that used at times to come and prowl about the 

 fowl-yard, but on one venturing to chase a Yellow-tufted Honey- 

 eater out of the garden, two young ones of the latter assisted the 



