^°'i^^"] MORSE, Birds of the Morcc District. 33 



Rhipidura leucophrys. Black and White Fantail. — Very numerous. 

 Last spring:: there were no less than nine nests (all being used) 

 within 100 yards of the house. 



Seisura inquieta. Restless Flycatcher. — Plentiful; more especially 

 near the water. 



Myiagra rubecula. Leaden Flycatcher. — Very rai*e, but few pairs 

 remain in the district to breed each summer, though they do not 

 appear until the weather is hot. 



Pteropodocys maxima. Ground Cuckoo-Shrike. — Fairly plentiful. 

 Nesting commences in August and lasts till October, seldom later. 



Graucalus novxe-hoUandiae. Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike. — Numerous. 

 These birds are late breeders, not beginning till October; but nests 

 can often be found as late as January. 



Graucalus mentalis. Little Cuckoo-Shrike. — Fairly numerous along 

 the rivers, but seldom seen elsewhere. 



Campephaga tricolor. White-shouldered Caterpiller - eater. — 

 Numerous in the late spring and summer; some birds remain here 

 all through the winter, though the majority go north. Several re- 

 turned soldiers have told me that the note of the male is just like a 

 burst of machine gun fire. Why not call him the Machine Gunner? 



Pomatostomus temporalis. Grey-crowned Babbler. — Very nume- 

 rous throughout the district. 



Poniatcstomus superciliosus. White-browed Babbler. — Very rare. 

 I have never seen these birds in the district, but since I started writing 

 this, Mr. Mawhiney rang me up to say he had just found them breed- 

 ing. This is also the first record he has of them. 



Cinclorhamphus cruralis. Brown Song-Lark. — Numerous. The 

 flight of the male bird of this species is more like the aerial move- 

 ments of an aeroplane than that of any other bird I know of. Prefers 

 the open plains. 



Cinclorhamphus mathewsl. Rufous Song-Lark. — Numerous; but 

 prefers the lightly timbered countiy; more especially large ring- 

 barked timber. 



Epthianura albifrons. White-fronted Bush-Chat. — On occasions, 

 and at certain favoured spots, these little birds are to be found, but 

 they are not numerous. 



Epthianura tricolor. Crimson Biish-Chat. — Not numerous., and, like 

 the former bird, favouring cei'tain localities, preferably the tall 

 thistles, where they breed. 



Epthianura aurifrons. Orange Bush-Chat. — My first sight of these 

 pretty little birds in the district was on the return trip from R.A.O.U. 

 camp at Wallis Lake. When driving home from Garah, two flew from 

 the roadside. Subsequently I saw numbers of them, and Mr. 

 Mawhiney found them breeding in the prickly acacia bushes on the 

 plains. 



Acrocephalus australis. Australian Reed-Warbler. — Very nume- 

 rous along "The Watercourse," where the abundance of sags and tall 

 reeds is all they desire. Many can be found in the mid-wintei in this 

 favoured place. 



Megalurus gramineus. Little Grass-Bird. — Numerous, especially 

 in the swamps, where the polygonum bushes grow. 



Chthonicola sagittata. Speckled Warbler.— In the more heavily 

 timbered lands in the N.E. we saw a fair number of "specks" on one 

 of our excursions. Black-eared Cuckoos were also more numerous 

 there than elsewhere, but we could find no "specks' " nests, conse- 

 quently no Cuckoo's eggs. 



