BIRDS OF OUR BUSH 



restrain any desire to wander from the track in a search for 

 other birds. Thus it has happened that two or three times 

 when engaged on other work, we have seen and heard the 

 Pink-breasted Robin in the vicinity, but have allowed the 

 opportunity to pass. Had we been able to visit the locality 

 again on the following day we might have been successful 

 in locating a nest. 



Even more slender is our first-hand knowledge of two 

 rare Flycatchers, which we have also observed in the 

 Ranges. They are birds upon which any Nature photo- 

 grapher would be pleased to expose numerous plates, even 

 at their present high price. The Leaden and the Satin Fly- 

 catcher are both inhabitants of the class of country beloved 

 of the Lyre Bird and the Pilot Bird, and we have not been 

 able to determine whether they are really remarkable- 

 looking birds or whether their association with the silence 

 of the forest accounts for such an impression in our minds. 

 The Leaden species we encountered first at Myer's Falls, 

 near Healesville, where a single specimen was performing 

 manoeuvres in its search for insects. If he appreciated 

 mosquitoes, and they were one-tenth as numerous around 

 his person as they were round ours, he should have made a 

 very good living. 



"Leaden Flycatcher" is a particularly apt term. The 

 bird's plumage is a dark leaden grey, with a greenish sheen. 

 The throat and breast are similarly coloured, while the re- 

 mainder of the underparts is white. 



The Satin Flycatcher is very similar to the Leaden, 

 except that the darker portion of the plumage is a beautiful 

 shining dark green. Our few observations of the species 

 have been amongst fairly high timber, though we are not 

 sure that they show preference for such positions. 



The nests of both species are built high, well out of the 

 way of most photographers. 



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