14 Firds in and about flic Station. 



plumaij^e wlii'c the rcma'ndcr of th? upper p'umage c'e^tnut. Ar 

 sccniid auluinn moult the whole head be:-omes glossy black 

 and the middle pair ol' tail feathers grow to a great length, 

 these are east in I\Iay or June. At third autumn moult the 

 whole lowei plumage becomes pure white and the long chest- 

 nut tail feathers arc grown again and retained. At the 

 fourth autumn moult the bird is adult; head, crest and neck, 

 are metallic blue-black, the rest of the plumage white, most of 

 the feathers of upper plumage are black shafted, the wing 

 feathers have black near the shaft. The middle pair of tail 

 feathers are greatly elongated, and fall in a graceful 

 curve when the bird is at rest. The bill, gape, and margin 

 of eyelids are cobalt-blue, bill darker at the tip. All the 

 above except where otherwise mentioned applies to cocks. 

 Length from 9 to 21 inches, tail from 4.^^ to 1 6.\ inches. I 

 have seen a white cock without his long tail as early as 

 mid-August : this is exceptional, but all lose their tails before 

 they lea\'e us. Not having seen the birds in winter, I do not 

 know whether their tails grow again at once or at the advent 

 of spring. 



Thf: Yeli.ow-ijellifd Flycatcher {Ch'lidorlivnx h\p- 

 oxanthiim) is called a Fantail by Jerdon and it seems a pi'^y 

 to have dropped this name, as it is descriptive. According 

 to Ijlandford it is usually seen in small Hocks him'.ing about 

 trees. 1 have only seen it in single pairs in early spring at 

 not less than 5,000 feet. It frecjuents trees, making short 

 sallies uU(j the air in true Tlycatchcr fashion, but after settling 

 twists and turns in true Fantail fashion. It does not do 

 nearly so much running along branches as the bush-loving 

 Fantail {Rlii pidiira) but is very nearly as restless and cheery. 

 It has the advantage of being far more brightly coloured. 

 Also if one can take a native's word (1 fear I don't as a 

 rule, as regards birdsj it ought to be easier tc^ meat off. I 

 was trap])ing near Dalhousie in February (not this year) 

 aboui a mile from camp when I caught one of a pair. I 

 wanted the other, so kept my first capture with me to give 

 me a hand. As an assistant catcher it was a fraud, as its 

 partner took no interest in its whereabouts, but it gave me 

 an interesting morning. It took broken mealworms at once, 



