NUMEROUS SMALL SUBJECTS 



idea of the appearance of the nest and of the manner in 

 which it is frequently fitted into a horizontal fork. 



Quite usually the nest of the species is placed at a con- 

 siderable height, rather inconveniently for the photo- 

 grapher. A couple of years ago we were fortunate, how- 

 ever, in locating a nest, close to the house at Ferntree 

 Gully, in which this rule was not observed. Both the 

 pictures reproduced were obtained at this home, which was 

 built on a dead branch about ten feet from the ground. 

 The birds, after a little indecision, became fairly trustful, 

 and our only difficulty was the result of a stubborn desire 

 they showed to face the camera directly. The photographs 

 we obtained on this occasion are, we think, amongst the 

 best in our collections. The correctness of the focus enables 

 one to pick out the details of plumage in a way usually 

 impossible when observing the bird in real life. It may be 

 easily understood, on examining the pictures reproduced, 

 that the Brown Flycatcher's nest is not easy to locate with- 

 out the help of the birds' convicting movements. Even 

 when a bird is sitting on the nest, its grey plumage har- 

 monises well with the colour of the branch on which the nest 

 rests. 



The little Warbling Grass Parrot is well known, though 

 by a much shorter and more romantic name. Many cage 

 bird enthusiasts have kept the Love Bird in cages, or, we 

 trust, in avaiaries. As a rule, the Love Bird does not 

 usually penetrate so far south as the area over which we 

 have wandered. But when a dry season depletes the food 

 supply further north, large flocks have been seen in the open 

 timber around Greensborough. Their diminutive size, 

 dainty green plumage, and affectionate habits one to the 

 other, make them great favourites, whether in the field or 

 in a cage. 



There are a few birds within easy reach of Melbourne 

 which have eluded us so far, but which are down on our 

 list for conquest sooner or later. One of the first is the 

 Emu Wren (a very small species indeed, which lives in the 

 swampy grass country such as that about Koo-wee-rup.) It 

 is a remarkable bird, notable because of its small size and 

 for the beauty of its filmy, upright tail feathers. About its 

 habits we know nothing, as we have never yet seen the 

 bird. 



The Tit tribe is a widely distributed one, and two species 



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