OF SOUTHERN AUSTRALIA. 



127 



a perfect ventriloquist. At first its note commences in so 

 low a tone that it sounds as if at a considerable distance, and 

 then gradually increases in volume till it appears 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 



Bell-bird. 



few yards distant, its motionless attitude rendering its dis- 

 covery 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 



