BIRDS OF OUR BUSH 



of birds. This nest was built at the base of a briar bush in 

 a dry water-course. We obtained a few pictures here also, 

 rather better ones, perhaps, than those of the previous year. 



Curiously enough, while the Buff-tailed Tit somewhat 

 resembles the Tom-tit, so does the other species of which 

 we have had experience, resemble in some respects the 

 Brown Tit already described. The Striated Tit, however, 

 is a much smaller bird than the Tom-tit and the Buff -tailed 

 species, smaller in fact than the Brown Tit. There are at 

 least two other ways in which the Striated Tit may be dis- 

 tinguished from the Brown. Both have the breast 

 streaked, but the Striated species has the crown of the head 

 streaked also. The tail coverts of the Striated species, 

 moreover, are of an olive brown colour, while those of the 

 Brown Tit are a rufous brown. The Striated is partial 

 to the higher branches of the saplings and gum trees, while 

 the Brown prefers the lower growths. 



The nest of the Striated Tit is a beautiful thing, being 

 closely built of stringy bark, and lined with feathers or 

 other soft material. The illustration on page 49 pictures 

 it accurately. It is built in the swaying branches of a 

 sapling, usually at a considerable height. 



The photographs of this species were taken within a few 

 feet of the nest of the Buff -tailed just mentioned, and a few 

 weeks later than the other set. We were unable to do any 

 photography until the young had left the nest, when we 

 promptly captured them and placed them for safe-keeping 

 in one of the camera bags. The parents were ideal sub- 

 jects from the beginning, and we were soon able to expose 

 several plates. Our only trouble was caused by an ex- 

 ceedingly high wind, not at all a novelty amongst the woes 

 of the photographer. The following year we obtained a 

 few more pictures at a nest conveniently placed in a position 

 lower than usual. 



We are rather proud of a representative collection of 

 photographs of the Tit family and their homes. 



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