150 Mr. E. L. Layard on some little-known 



It was breeding during our visit ; and we found several nests, 

 but mostly with young ones. The structure is always placed 

 in the fork of a perpendicular twig, composed of very fine 

 fibrous material and the hairs of the young shoots of tree- 

 ferns densely felted together. The interior of the nest is 

 lined with coarser fibre. They all end in a long tail running 

 down the perpendicular twig to which they are attached, 

 though at the same time they are supported by a lateral twig 

 running through their substance. Diam. outside 2" 9"', 

 inside 1" 9"'; depth inside 1" 9'", from tip to end of tail 5" or 6"; 

 but I saw one fully 9". The eggs are white, with various- 

 sized brown-pink spots, rather inclining to form a ring at the 

 greatest diameter, which is 7'" , axis 8V". This species is ge- 

 nerally distributed, and, from its bold manner and loud cries 

 of defiance, sure to attract notice. It follows the intruder on 

 its haunts, chattering, scolding, spreading its fan-shaped tail, 

 drooping its rounded wings, and, in fact, menacing its sup- 

 posed foe till he has passed beyond its domain. 



Myiagra azureocapilla, Layard, Ibis, 1875, p. 434. 



This lively bird was another of my attractions to Taviuni ; 

 and we devoted many hours of special hunting for them. 

 They haunt the densest forest, and are partial to " cane- 

 brakes " and tangles of lianas. My son, who procured the 

 majority of our specimens, says he rarely found them except 

 in pairs, and that the love-making of the male was very 

 curious : standing on his tip toes, he elevated his lovely azure 

 crest and uttered shriU cries to his more sombre-coloured 

 mate. On Leopold shooting a female that cried out on being 

 captured, the male fairly attacked him, and would not leave 

 him, even for a sufficient distance to save his being blown to 

 pieces by the discharge, for many minutes. We failed to find 

 any nest, though (from the sexual development) they must 

 have been breeding, or about to do so. 



Mr. Tempest has sent me a young bird of this species from 

 Bua. He says he thought it a non-breeding female ; but'the 

 throat is a brighter chestnut-colour than others in my collec- 

 tion, and the head has a blue tinge. I think it a young male, 

 and that in youth this sex resembles the female. 



