BIRDS OF OUR BUSH 



several visits with food while we watched, and we had 

 traced their movements almost exactly ; still it was some 

 time before we could locate the nest. 



The nest shown in the picture on page 83, was built with 

 much less attempt at concealment than is usually the case, 

 but there was some surrounding growth which had to be 

 parted somewhat to allow of a clear view. It is a typical 

 nest, being built of coarse grasses and lined warmly with 

 feathers. Very often rabbit fur is used as a lining. One 

 nest we discovered at Eltham some years ago was built ex- 

 ternally of skeleton leaves. It made an extremely pretty 

 picture. 



The Scrub Wren also is an early builder. We have 

 frequently found nests before the end of July, and have 

 seldom seen them later than the end of September. The 

 eggs, usually three in number, are rather larger than the 

 size of the bird would lead one to expect. They are of a 

 white ground colour, very densely covered with small 

 purple-red specks, often so densely speckled as to have the 

 appearance of being wholly red. 



The truth of our remarks regarding the interest of bird 

 observation at close quarters as against more distant obser- 

 vation is clearly demonstrated in the picture of a Ground 

 Lark, or Pipit, which appears on page 89. The photograph, 

 in many ways, is not a good one, but the mere fact that it is 

 almost an impossibility to view a live Ground Lark in the 

 wild state at close range, renders the details of plumage 

 apparent in the picture quite a surprise to the observer. 

 The protective coloration of these ground-building birds 

 was a factor operating against success in this case, but our 

 greatest difficulty lay in the universal wariness of the 

 species. The casual observer may not agree that the 

 Ground Lark is a wary bird. In our boyhood, certainly, 

 we did not experience any difficulty in locating its nest, 

 because, like most other species protectively coloured, it 

 does not rise until the intruder is within a couple of feet of 

 it. The real test of wariness commences, however, when a 

 camera or something else unusual is placed near its home, 

 and the bird is invited to carry out its ordinary duties. 

 Under this test we guarantee that any observer will find the 

 Ground Lark as wary as he wishes. It is a certainty that 

 tnis picture would never have been obtained had it not been 

 that the nest contained very young chicks which, the parent 



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