SOME USEFUL AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 79 



larvae, most of which are probably found under the loose scaley bark on the 

 tree trunks. They have a quick short flight from tree to tree, and do not 

 travel long distances ; when flying, the orange markings on the wings stand 

 -out from the otherwise dull reddish-brown plumage. Dr. George Bennett, 

 who wrote a great deal upon his personal observations on Australian birds in 

 his " Gatherings of a Naturalist," describes (and gives a wood-cut of) the 

 nest and eggs of the Orange-winged Nut-hatch. The nest is a very dainty 

 structure, cup-shaped, with a slender base blending into the foundation on 

 the tree, and built up so that it fits into the fork and against the branch. It 

 is comprised of spiders' webs and cocoons, with the outer surface coated with 

 bits of bark placed on the sides to fit in with the formation of the bark of 

 the branch. The nest is deep and lined with soft material. The eggs consist 

 of three in a clutch, and are greyish-white, blotched and spotted with slate- 

 ^rey and sepia. 



It seems a great pity that when a bird can be named from its family group 

 like the Orange-winged Nut-hatch that our bird-men should have adopted 

 such an indecisive name as Orange-winged Tree-runner, 



The Crested Bell-bird {Oreoica cristata Lewin). 



Gould's Handbook, vol. I, p. 231, No. 131 ; Leach's Bird Book, p. 151, No .321. 



This bird has an extended range right across Australia from east to west, 

 but is not found in Tasmania. It is non-migratory, and is found in pairs all 

 over the open forest and scrub country inland, but nowhere in numbers. It is a 

 rather large, active, scrub bird, feeding and living chiefly upon the ground, 

 where it finds most of its food — such as seeds, beetles, and grubs. When 

 disturbed it flies upward into the adjacent trees. 



Gilbert sent Gould the following description of the notes of this remarkable 

 bird, which he said was a perfect ventriloquist : " At first its note commences 

 in so low a note that it seems as if at a considerable distance, and then 

 gradually increases in volume until it appeal's over the head of the wondering 

 hearer, the bird that utters it being all the while on the dead part of a tree, 

 perhaps not more than a few yards distant. Its motionless attitude renders 

 its discovery very difficult. It has two kinds of song, the most usual of 

 which is a running succession of notes, or two notes repeated together rather 

 slowly, followed by a repetition three times rather quickly, the last note 

 resembling the sound of a bell from, its ringing tone ; the other song is 

 pretty nearly the same, only that it concludes with a sudden and peculiar 

 fall of two notes." 



The Crested Bell-bird's nest is cup-shaped, deep, and composed of strips of 

 bark and leaves, lined inside with softer material. It contains three, four, 

 and sometimes five bluish-white eggs, blotched with dark olive-green, and in 

 some specimens almost with black. Campbell records Barnard's observations 

 that in north Queensland the birds have the habit of placing hairy cater- 

 pillars in and around the nest. From his description the writer thinks that 



