YELLOW ROBIN, HONEYEATERS AND OTHERS 



trouble at different parts of the circumference of the home, 

 but not at just the point we wanted. We tried all ways, 

 and eventually succeeded. The negative was a good one, 

 and we were pleased. While the plates were drying one 

 came to grief. We will leave the reader to guess which one 

 it was. 



The Yellow Robin is a more handsome bird to look at 

 than the photographs indicate. The blending of the dark 

 brown back with the lemon yellow breast is lost to photo- 

 graphy. Some day we hope colour photography will be 

 made perfect. The nest is an example of architecture hard 

 to surpass in the bush. Built of bark and grasses, it is 

 carefully finished, and has hung round the outside strips of 

 bark in a manner clearly shown in the picture on page 57. 

 There seems to be a great deal of speculation amongst 

 observers as to whether these strips are an indication of a 

 sense of the beautiful in the bird mind, or simply the out- 

 come of the instinct of self-protection. We incline to the 

 latter view. 



The nesting period of the Yellow Bob is an extended one. 

 Nests may often be found as early as the end of August, and 

 as late as the middle of January. Probably more than one 

 brood is reared in the season, but of this we are not sure. 

 The eggs, in keeping with everything else in the Yellow 

 Robin's life, are pretty. Their ground colour is apple 

 green, while blotches and markings of lilac and brown 

 appear over the whole surface. Perhaps the blotches are 

 closest about the larger end. 



Australia is particularly rich in the family of birds 

 known as Honeyeaters. Without any undue splitting of 

 species, probably eighty or more have been listed. As a 

 general rule, they are streamside birds, and will be dealt 

 with in this chapter. Two, however, the Noisy Miner and 

 the Wattle Bird, show a preference for the open country 

 and for larger timber. These species have already been 

 described in the preceding part. 



Many of the Honeyeaters familiar to us have so far 

 eluded us photographically. The Yellow-faced species is 

 the one best known, and the neighbourhood of its dainty nest 

 has been the scene of many patient hours, and subsequent 

 failures. In fact, Honeyeaters are never regarded by us 

 as promising subjects. We quite expect that some ob- 

 servers will not agree with this view, but it must be borne 



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