200 Thomson, Nesting Habits of the Grass-Warbler. [isf "jan. 



Judging from the action of the birds that a nest was being built 

 close at hand, I began a thorough search in the long grass. This 

 search soon revealed the wonderful domed, cradle-like nest, low 

 down amongst the green herbage. It was placed about four 

 inches from the ground, and was composed of fairly coarse grasses 

 felted together and lined with fine white thistledown and seeds. 

 From a short distance this nest had the appearance of being quite 

 white, studded with dark spots, which were the seeds, the 

 surrounding grasses and leaves of the plants being drawn down 

 over the nest and fastened with cobweb threads. The opening 

 in the side was large for the size of the bird, and faced the east. 

 So frail was the whole structure that it appeared quite incapable 

 of supporting the weight even of the tiny owner, much less with- 

 standing the heavy summer rains or breezes. The nest contained 

 four eggs of a blue ground colour, spotted towards the larger end 

 with brown markings, and quite oval in shape. By the actions 

 of the birds it would appear that, although the eggs were far in- 

 cubated at that time, the nest was being added to by the birds, 

 in the evenings chiefly. 



A Bush Walk. 



By H. Stuart Dove, F.Z.S., R.A.O.U., West Devonport (Tas.) 



At the beginning of the fourth week of September I took a day 

 out in the bush near Devonport in order to see what spring 

 migrants had arrived and which were still to come. The growth 

 hereabouts consists mainly of stringybarks and white gums, under 

 which is a scrub of prickly and varnish wattles, Pultenjeas of 

 various species, tea-trees of several kinds, Cassinias, and an 

 occS,sional honeysuckle bush. The prickly wattles were a 

 beautiful sight on that sunny morning, being loaded with 

 " spikes " of pale yellow blossom. The notes of the Fan-tailed 

 Cuckoo {Cacomantis flabelliformis) rippled pleasingly from various 

 trees, the sound seeming to be permeated with the very soul of 

 spring. The somewhat plaintive series of notes (usually eight in 

 succession, then a pause) uttered by the pretty Bronze-Cuckoo 

 {Chalcococcyx plagosus) was also frequently heard, although this 

 bird does not thrust itself upon our notice as does the larger 

 Fan-tailed Cuckoo. The Narrow-billed Bronze-Cuckoo (C 

 basalis) is also plentiful here, but whether its call is exactly 

 similar to that of C. plagosus is a moot point. I think not, biit 

 there is a great likeness in the notes of all the Chalcococcyx genus. 

 For instance, the cry of the Shining Bronze (C. lucidits), which 

 visits New Zealand each year, is well described by Sir Walter Buller, 

 and his description would apply equally well to those of our 

 Tasmanian visitors : — " The cry is a remarkable one, the bird 

 appearing to be endowed with a peculiar kind of ventriloquism. 

 It consists of eight or ten long silvery notes quickly repeated. 



