INSESSORES. 295 



clothed witli vegetation of a brush-like character. "In its 

 actions," says Gilbert, " this bird is very like the Robins, 

 being much on the ground, and when feeding constantly 

 flying up and perching on a small upright twig. It does not 

 appear to be capable of great or continued exertion on the 

 wing, as it is rarely seen to do more than flit from bush to 

 bush. Its most common note much resembles the very 

 lengthened and plaintive song of the Estrelda bella, but 

 differs from it in being a double note often repeated ; it also 

 utters a great variety of single notes, and during the breeding- 

 season pours forth a short but agreeable song. 



" The nest is very difficult to detect, the situations chosen 

 for it being the thickly-wooded gum-forests of the mountain 

 districts and the mahogany- forests of the lowlands ; from the 

 forks of the younger of these trees a great portion of the bark 

 generally hangs down in strips ; and in the fork the bird 

 generally makes its nest of narrow strips of the bark bound 

 together with cobwebs, while around the outside a quantity 

 of dangling pieces are suspended, giving it the exact appear- 

 ance of other forks of the tree ; the inside of the nest has no 

 other lining than a few pieces of bark laid across each other, 

 or a single dried leaf, large enough to cover the bottom. It 

 breeds in September and October, and lays two eggs, which 

 are more lengthened in form than those of Eopsaltria australis, 

 and are of a wood-brown, obscurely freckled with yellowish 

 red, ten lines long by seven lines and a haK broad. 



" Its stomach is muscular, and its food consists of insects 

 of various kinds." 



The sexes are precisely similar in outward appearance. 



It is stationary in Western Australia, but the extent of its 

 range over the continent is not yet known. 



Crown of the head, ear-coverts, sides and back of the neck, 

 and back grey ; throat and chest greyish white ; abdomen, 

 rump, upper and under tail-covcrts rich yellow ; wings and 

 tail greyish brown, the extreme tips of the latter edged with 



