BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 61 



the English JMagpie. When moving amoug the branches of a bush, 

 either in search of insects or for the purpose of extracting honey 

 from the blossoms, its actions are somewhat slow — it has not the 

 bright alertness of cither the Spinebill or the Crescent Honey- 

 eater. 



On being approached when feeding, instead of taking alarm 

 and at once flying away, it will dodge the observer round the tree 

 or bush, taking care to keep as far away as possible. 



*MINER 

 [Myzantha {Manorhina) garrula, Lath.) 



Male. — Forehead greyish-white; crown of the head, ear coverts, 

 and base of the jaws black; hind-neck grey, narrowly barred with 

 whitish ; back dark grey, slightly washed with yellow, with black 

 shaft-streaks to feathers; rump and upper tail coverts a little 

 lighter; tail feathers brownish-grey, black on the inner webs; 

 the centre ones have the extreme outer webs yellow ; all are broadly 

 tipped with white; wing coverts same colour as back, lesser series 

 fringed with yellow ; primaries brownish-black, greyish-white on 

 the outer webs; secondaries brownish-black on inner webs, greyish 

 on outer, which are broadly fringed with yellow ; chin and throat 

 blackish down the centre ; lower throat, sides of the neck, and upper 

 breast greyish, with sub-terminal crescent-shaped marks of dark 

 brown; lower breast with dark shaft-streaks on terminal half of 

 feathers only ; abdomen grey ; under tail coverts white ; bill yellow ; 

 legs and feet yellowish flesh colour. Dimensions in mm. : — 

 Length, 280; bill, 24.5; wing, 134; tail, 133; tarsus, 33. 



Female. — Resembles male. Dimensions in mm. : — Length, 

 277; bill, 16.5; wmg, 150; tail, 128; tarsus, 33. 



Young. — Closely resemble adults. 



Nest. — Cup-shaped and open ; very frequently frailly con- 

 structed, but sometimes the opposite is the case; fine twigs, grass- 

 stems, shreds of bark, and rootlets play the chief part in its 

 composition ; a varied assortment of substances is used for lining, 

 such as horse-hair, grass-stems, bark, feathers (rarely), wool, &c. 

 The forked branches of a tree or sapling are chosen as a resting 

 place for the structure. As a rule the nest is never placed very 

 high up, though often it is difficult of access. 



Eggs. — Clutch three to four; oval to round oval in shape; 

 texture fine; surface glossy; the ground colour is pinky-white, 

 spotted and blotched all over with reddish-chestnut and purplish- 

 grey ; in boldly ixiarked specimens there is a large patch of reddish- 

 chestnut at the apex. Other specimens are very thickly and evenly 

 spotted all over with small spots of colouring matter. Dimen- 

 sions in mm. of an average clutch : — (1) 28.5 x 20, (2) 26.5 x 20, 

 (3) 28 X 20.5, (4) 29 x 19.75. 



