^°iQo8^^ ] Homesteads, Break-o'-day District, Tasniauia. ^A7 



reversing its position on its perch — a little performance which it 

 is fond of making. As regards its use as an insectivorous bird, 

 mention is made elsewhere of its work in clearing away 

 cabbage aphis from a garden. This localitx- is a favourite 

 haunt of the Blue Wren. It delights in thick clumps of shrubs, 

 such as Pittospornin, Olearia, Eno)iyuins, &c., out of which the 

 little family will dart, one following the other, to the grass, in 

 search of any insects they may espy, and, proceeding hither and 

 thither with lightning-like little hops, will quickly retreat into 

 their cover, or pass on, following each other through the flower 

 beds, to entrap some new insect quarry. 



Pampas grass is a favourite situation for the nest of the Blue 

 Wrens, Deep in the recesses of this thick-leaved plant they 

 build a bulky nest, so as to gain foundation for the structure, 

 which is of dried grass, stalks, and " bents," and with a soft 

 lining, among which feathers are usually to be found. Though 

 globular in structure, there is often only a rough hood, and the 

 opening but little finished. Sometimes an open situation will 

 be chosen, a nest a few years since having been built in one of 

 the fir-belts here in a piece of dead briar, which had fallen into 

 a ditch. It was a small fabric, cup-shaped, with only a pretence 

 of a hood at one side, the object being to apparently keep the 

 size of the nest down to a minimum to avoid conspicuousness. 

 Had it not been for the presence of the birds in the fir tree 

 above the nest, one would not have identified it as that of a Blue 

 Wren. There were three eggs — white, with the usual reddish- 

 brown spots and small blotches ; but, the situation being so 

 badly chosen for their location, both nest and eggs came to grief 

 before the bird began to incubate — the work, probabl)-, of a 

 Butcher-Bird, cat, or other marauder. 



These little birds are so fond of flies, midges, and tiny insects 

 that they sometimes frequent the vicinity of windows in out- 

 houses, outside of which there is perching accommodation for 

 them. From there they will dart up against the glass and catch 

 their food with extraordinary agility, returning to the charge so 

 long as they espy their prey, and perching on the sill to watch 

 for it. 



Rhipidlk.v diemenensis (Dusky Fantail). 



This charming little bird has of recent years become a visitor 

 in the spring to our plantations, and nests a few yards from the 

 front verandah. Two pairs occasionally come to us from the 

 bush, but we are regularly favoured with the company of one. 

 They are fond of choosing a moderately thick and very leafy 

 shrub, such as the green Euojiyinus, in which the nest is more 

 difificult to detect, though after it has been found one is surprised 

 that it was not seen at the first glance into the shrub. The 

 beautiful architecture and skilful balancincr on their twie" founda- 



