FANTAILS, THRUSHES, SILVER-EYE 



photographs of the birds being obtained, but on three separ- 

 ate occasions with a year or more between, we have photo- 

 graphed the nest. One of the pictures is reproduced on 

 page 179. In front of the nest itself a piece of discarded 

 material of a previous year's home may be seen. This pair 

 of birds always reared two broods in the season. One 

 nest-full usually appeared in the month of October, and a 

 later one in December or January. 



At Ferntree Gully also we have located a considerable 

 number of the large bark nests of the species built in the 

 forks of trees or in the hollows of low stumps, but it was a 

 considerable time before we discovered one which lent itself 

 to photography. The bird whose portrait appears on 

 page 175, however, had its nest in the side of a stump in a 

 position which suited us admirably. It was only about 

 four feet from the ground, and the comparative freedom of 

 the surroundings from obstacles to the ingress of sunlight 

 made our task simpler. The birds themselves were not 

 over-confident, and it was only after about two hours' wait, 

 which must have been irksome to a companion who hap- 

 pened to be with us, that we were able to expose five or six 

 plates when the parents perched on a pinnacle of the stump 

 a few feet from the nest of restless youngsters. They 

 would not approach closer, and the pictures show what, to 

 our minds, is a serious defect, though some photographers, 

 apparently, are not so particular. We dislike exceedingly the 

 appearance given to a picture obtained by facing the camera 

 upwards at the subject. However, it could not be avoided 

 on this occasion, and this is one of the few pictures in our 

 first-grade collection which shows this particular fault. 



The nest of the Thrush, as has already been mentioned, 

 is built externally of bark. It is lined with grasses and 

 fine roots. The usual clutch of eggs is three or four, large 

 and white, sparsely marked with blotches and spots of dark 

 brown and black. 



The Mountain Thrush is altogether dissimilar to the 

 Harmonious, or Grey, species, both in appearance and in 

 disposition. In size alone are they somewhat alike. The 

 Mountain Thrush is a quiet and unobtrusive bird, fond of 

 the shadows and of leaf-strewn ground. It is fitted, in 

 fact, for such localities, as its peculiar crescent-marked 

 plumage harmonises well with dry twisted leaves and twigs 

 of the mountain or creek-side undergrowth. To just what 



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