BIRDS OF OUR BUSH 



which these creatures have to contend. In any case, no 

 one with experience will deny that many of these aids to 

 concealment adopted by the birds are decidedly efficient 

 even where man — or perhaps boy — is concerned. It is 

 more than likely, therefore, that such habits, though they 

 may fail so far as human beings are concerned, are a 

 decided protection against natural enemies. Almost every 

 nest illustrated in these pages will show some signs of 

 adornment. 



The eggs of the Brown Tit are small — a white ground, 

 minutely freckled with red. The usual clutch is three. 



The White-browed Scrub Wren is easily recognised and 

 distinguished from its neighbour, the "Brownie," by its 

 quiet and unobtrusive progress through the creek-side 

 undergrowth. It is when one sits motionless and silent in 

 such a locality that one is most likely to obtain a good view 

 of the bird. In colour it is a warm brown, which har- 

 monises well with the darkness of the undergrowth. A 

 faint white eyebrow and two or three small white marks on 

 the wings are the only relief to its sombre colouring. Both 

 these markings are clearly visible in the picture reproduced 

 on page 85, and the characteristic attitude of energy and 

 alertness is also well depicted. 



Notwithstanding its exceeding cunning in concealing its 

 home the Scrub Wren is not, as a rule, a difficult bird to 

 observe and photograph. A nest with eggs or young is 

 usually sufficient inducement to bring the bird into any 

 position desired. In fact on such occasions, but for its 

 continual scolding, it does not appear to take any notice of 

 the camera or of the intruder. The Darebin Creek pro- 

 vides plenty of cover for this species, and we have had 

 opportunities, on three or four occasions, of exposing plates 

 as the parents fed their young in the nest. The bird 

 pictured on page 85 was so trustful that we were able to 

 make exposures without moving at all from the camera. 

 We were, in fact, able to adjust the focussing screw while 

 the bird was in the desired position. The amount of 

 movement necessary to accomplish this is considerable, and 

 constitutes, at the distance of eighteen inches, a severe 

 strain upon the trustfulness of any bird. The nest in this 

 instance was built cunningly under the lower leaves of a 

 large thistle-like plant, which we have always called (incor- 

 rectly, we believe) an "artichoke." The parents had made 



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