24 BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 



blackish ; throat, chest, and abdomen orange-scarlet ; lower part 

 of abdomen and under tail coverts white ; bill black ; legs and feet 

 blackish-brown. Dimensions in mm.: — Length, 153; bill, 10; 

 wing, 76; tail, 57; tarsus, 19. 



Female. — Head and back brown; wings and tail dark brown; 

 markings on wings and tail same as in male, only that the white 

 is of a buff shade; spot on forehead small and buffy-white; chin 

 and throat brownish-white ; chest and upper part of abdomen 

 brown, rest of under surface dull whita. Dimensions in mm. : — 

 Length, 130; bill, 10; wing, 75; tail, 53; tarsus, 19. 



Young. — The males do not attain adult plumage until the 

 second spring season, but they breed while in the dusky plumage. 



Nest. — Cup-shaped or flattish and shallow, according to situa- 

 tion. The choice of situation likewise has much to do with the 

 choice of materials used in construction ; fine shreds of bark and 

 soft grass, with which are mixed spider's w^eb, thistle-down, fine 

 rootlets, and a little moss, are chiefly used; fur, fine rootlets, 

 and soft bark are the usual inside lining. The hollow spout in the 

 broken limb of a fallen tree, a hole in the side of a stump, among 

 the roots of a fallen tree, or under the edge of a bank of a cree'k 

 are among the sites chosen. 



Eggs. — Clutch three usually; stout oval in shape; texture of 

 shell fine; sui'face almost without lustre; colour bluish or greenish 

 white, spotted more or less heavily, especially about the apex, 

 with umber and dull grej'. Dimensions in mm. of a clutch — (1) 

 16 X 12, (2) 17.5 X 13, (3) 17 x 12.75. 



Breeding Season. — September to December. 



Geographical Distribution. — Tasmania, King and several other 

 islands in Bass Strait, New South Wales, Victoria, South Austra- 

 lia, and South Queensland. 



Observations. — That this species does not entirely leave the 

 State during the winter months for parts of the mainland has now 

 been proved beyond dispute. I have records of having seen it 

 during different years (in fact, almost every year) in various parts 

 of Tasmania in the depth of winter. Some districts are deserted 

 altogether at the first touch of winter; in others the number of 

 birds decreases. Almost any day any month in winter a few 

 individuals are to be found round Launceston. Accoi'ding to Mr. 

 H. Stuart Dove the bulk of the birds repair to the coastal regions 

 for the cold months. 



The statement made by Gould, and since much copied, to the 

 effect that " it retires to the forests for the purpose of breeding," 

 is somewhat misleading, as a little investigation of the places 

 chosen for nesting will show. I have found as many nests in open, 

 scrubbed land and round homesteads, where there are only a few 

 prostrate giants and stumps here and there, as I have in forest 

 land. In some districts this species is exti^emely plentiful, to the 

 exclusion of the Scarlet-breasted Robin, and vice versa. In 



