l62 Mellor, The A.O.U. in Tasmania. [ist^Apr 



of the St. Patrick's River, in the north-eastern corner of the 

 island State, and from which the water supply for the city of 

 Launceston is ultimately drawn. The headquarters of the 

 camp were at Mr. Edwin J. Prestidge's farm, " River-Made," on 

 the banks of the clear, cool stream, and we soon christened it 

 " Veronica Camp," on account of the large bushes of a small- 

 leaved species of this plant that grew around, and had been 

 trained into symmetrical forms. Here Mrs. Prestidge and her 

 daughter attended to the material comforts of the party in a 

 thoroughly competent manner. Rain somewhat marred the 

 pleasure and success of the undertaking for a couple of days, 

 but as this cleared off, and the genial sunshine appeared, the 

 birds came forth in abundance, and their many and varied 

 voices made the dense woods and hillsides resound with melody. 

 It was some little time ere the visitors could accustom them- 

 selves to the somewhat changed notes of the birds, some species 

 resembling those of the mi.' ' •"^, while others are peculiar to 

 Tasmania ; but by close observation and careful study these 

 difficulties were soon overcome, and quite a number of species 

 were identified during the sojourn of the naturalists in the 

 district. Several species of Robins were seen, most of which 

 were noted with young, the plumage of which is dull, and 

 different from the bright uniforms of the male parent birds. 

 The Robins construct their nests very prettily of shreds of bark, 

 lined with fur and hair, and on the outside little pieces of green 

 moss and lichens are stuck to make the abode look like the tree 

 on which it is placed, and so deceive the little birds' enemies, 

 who would fain prey upon the eggs and young. The best 

 example of this deceptive mimicry was observed in the nests of 

 the Pink-breasted Robin {Petrccca rhodinogaster) and the 

 Scarlet-breasted Robin {P. leggii) ; the nest of the Dusky Robin 

 (/*, vittatd) was always found in some crevice or ledge of a 

 charred tree trunk, or placed in the upturned roots of a giant 

 eucalypt that had gone down before a gale years ago. 

 These sombre little birds were plentiful. Honey-eaters of 

 several species were noted, the Yellow-throated {Piilotts 

 flavigularis) being a native of Tasmania. The peculiar Yellow 

 Wattle-Bird {Acanthoc/lcBra inaiiris), whose long, fleshy, pendent 

 wattles make it at once an interesting object of study, was 

 rare. The Spinebill, with its peculiar awl-like bill, flitted about 

 the many flowers, and its pleasant note of " Ting-ting-ting " 

 was often heard. The colour of this bird was noted as of more 

 sombre hue, but otherwise the markings are identical with those 

 of the mainland species i^AcanthorJiyncJins temiirostris). The 

 Strong-billed Honey-eater {Melit/ireptus validirostris) and the 

 Black-headed {^M. mefanocephalus) were seen in the tree-tops, 

 where they hang their cup nests free from harm's way. Both 

 these species are peculiar to the island State, and are fairly 



