BIRDS OF OUR BUSH 



fashion, prying into every crack and corner meanwhile. On 

 reaching the branching limbs where these cracks and 

 corners are less numerous, they betake themselves to 

 a neighbouring tree, where a similar performance is gone 

 through. 



We have had experience of one accessible nest of the 

 species, and unfortunately missed what was undoubtedly an 

 excellent opportunity of adding the picture of the bird to 

 our collection. That we allowed other engagements to 

 interfere with our opportunity on this occasion, has been 

 an everlasting regret to us since. The nest was built at 

 the bottom of a hollow about six feet from the ground, in a 

 position well lit and convenient. On our first visit it con- 

 tained one egg, and the parent was not over-confident. She 

 visited her home a couple of times, however, and we had 

 every reason to believe that by the exercise of a little 

 patience her portrait would have been secured. Three 

 weeks later the young had flown, much to our disgust. 



The species is a soberly coloured one, its general appear- 

 ance being an olive brown. The throat, however, is almost 

 white, and the flanks are much streaked. The nest is of 

 grass, and lined with feathers, and the usual three eggs are 

 a dirty white, spotted with reddish-brown. 



Perhaps one of the prettiest nests of eggs it is possible 

 to find is that of the common little Silver-eye or White-eye, 

 a bird with a bad reputation amongst orchardists. It is 

 certainly very partial to soft fruits of all kinds, but the fact 

 that it is a destroyer of pests also should be taken into con- 

 sideration. The primary producer, and many another be- 

 sides, is too prone to judge some bird or animal simply by 

 the harm it does, and not by the balance of its good actions 

 over the bad, or the balance of the bad over the good. Very 

 probably the orchardist, if his orchard were suddenly rid 

 of these little birds, would soon find some pest becoming 

 apparent amongst his trees which would bid fair to rob him 

 of a considerably greater proportion of his crop than was 

 previously destroyed by the birds. But the orchardist sees 

 the Silver-eye eating his fruit, and does not see it destroy- 

 ing the pests which affect his trees. Hence the bird suffers. 

 To just what extent the White-eye performs useful service 

 we are unable to say ; but we feel sure that the service out- 

 weighs the harm done to the fruit. 



We set out to describe the nest of the White-eye, and 



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