BIRDS OF OUR BUSH 



eater had tarried too long — but no ! Except on one occa- 

 sion when "Brownie" carried a very small portion 

 triumphantly home the material remained where it was. 

 What would have been the ultimate result we know not. 

 Our sympathies were wholly with the smaller bird, and, 

 before leaving the spot, we played the bully with the larger 

 by climbling to its nest and generally harassing it while the 

 disputed material was eagerly transferred in large sections 

 to the interior of "Brownie's" home. 



Like quite a number of our small soberly coloured birds 

 the Brown Tit does not appear beautiful unless seen at 

 close quarters. In fact, we advise any person who is 

 unable to realise any beauty in such birds to reserve judg- 

 ment until they have seen them at a distance measured in 

 inches and not in yards. We hope that in some measure 

 our illustrations may provide such a ground for judgment, 

 but it must be remembered that the two great attributes of 

 movement and colour are missing therefrom. 



The Brown Tit is an early builder, and nests may be 

 found in August and even before. Description of its 

 home is not needed when we may simply refer the reader to 

 the picture on page 82. The nest is usually built near 

 the ground, in some bush or shrub, or even in tall rank 

 grass. Inside, the home is cosily lined with feathers, down, 

 or other soft material. The appearance of spiders' 

 cocoons on the nests of this and many other species of birds 

 has, so far as we know, not yet been satisfactorily ex- 

 plained. One or two of them will be noticed in the picture 

 referred to. They may be for ornament or they may be 

 intended to assist in the concealment of the nest. The 

 latter suggests itself as the more likely explanation. The 

 war has taught many lessons as to the efficiency of camou- 

 flage, the fundamental idea of which appears to be the 

 avoidance of a mass of material similarly coloured. Quite 

 possibly these creatures of our bush were acquainted with 

 the efficiency of camouflage of a kind for long centuries 

 before man learned it, whether from them eventually or 

 not, we cannot say. It does, however, appear to us likely 

 that this habit of adorning their nests may arise from the 

 necessity, for small birds at least, to deceive the eyes of 

 natural enemies. To our intellects these attempts may 

 appear useless and inefficient, but it must be remembered 

 that we are neither the original nor the only enemies with 



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