1922 



■] WOJ.STEXIK^L.ME, .Votes from Wahroouiia. 143 



bark with their powerful mandibles, as they search for their insect 

 food. At the bath one will flop down suddenly, causing a scare and 

 a scurrying- away cf the bathers as thouRh he were a Butcher-Bird. 

 He will splash about energ-etically, looking very alert and more hand- 

 some than usual with crest and tail spread — formidable, no doubt, 

 to the smaller birds that do not venture near while he is in poses- 

 sion. A pair nested at the extreme top — 70 feet high — of a lanky 

 blackbutt near the fence. 



Pachycephala rufiventris. Rufous-breasted Whistler. — These great 

 songsters may be beard in all directions in spring and summer, ex- 

 cept during a kind of midday siesta on hot days. Most of them 

 go north in the autumn. They have many melodious notes. The 

 chief one is heard at its best in the mating season, when the males 

 are in competition with one another, and in their excitement at this 

 time they have a curious habit of bowing or bobbing their bodies 

 up and down. ThJs note is a rapid and confused blending of rich 

 and resonant melody impossible to imitate. It is heard, too, when 

 the nest is being made. The female bird attends to this, but whether 

 she goes some distance away collecting material or whether she is 

 at the nest arranging it, the male bird is never very far from her, 

 making the bush resound with his approving outbursts and joyous 

 song. That is his only assistance. But it must be recorded that 

 later on he takes a turn sitting on the eggs, which many male birds 

 do not. 



Other pleasing notes are the leisurely "Echews" and the short 

 whip-iike notes. Then there is the loud single piping note oft re- 

 peated — so many times frequently that one wonders when it will 

 cease. When this is given it follows at the end of the commonest 

 call. Any sudden noise such as the report of a gun, a clap of thun- 

 der, blast at a quarry, always startles these bii'ds into song. The 

 female is not seen as often as the male, and has not his bright colours 

 or fine notes. 



Pachycephala .^utturalis. Yellow-breasted Whistler. — These are 

 plentiful, but not so common as the Rufous-breasted. They prefer 

 the scrubs and brushes of the gullies. A more handsome bird to 

 look at, but an inferior songster, though he has some fine calls — one 

 that is reminiscent of the well-known note of the Grey-Shrike 

 Thrush {Collitriciiicla harmonica) and one with a whip-like swish at 

 the end. The Whistlers are particularly fond of caterpillars, and 

 may frequently be seen in the trees pulling out quite large ones from 

 under the bark. One female bird used to come about the verandah 

 and take bits of cheese that were thiown down. Its plumage is 

 darker than that of the female nifivoitris, and has a green tinge. 

 The nest of the yellow bird is more solid than that of the rufous bird, 

 and, speaking generally, is nearer the ground. 



Rhipidura flabellifera. White-shafted Fantail. — Very numerous. 

 Fearless and inquisitive (yet in a shy kind of way), fussy and rest- 

 less as a Honeyedter, the peculiar little whistle may be heard all 

 thi'ough the day in the nesting season, as they hop and fit about in 

 the sci-ub and trees. Very quick and active in pursuit of flying in- 

 sects, they dart or dive suddenly in any direction, making the flight 

 sometimes appear jerky. Nests about here are very low — some only 

 2 feet from the ground. 



Rhipidura rufifrons. Rufous-fronted Fantail. — Not nearly so 

 numerous; but they frequently come up from the gullies to the gar- 

 dens and are sometimes seen hopping about in company with the 

 White-shafted. They are similar in habit to the white-shafted species, 

 but more beautiful in appearance — a study in rufous shades. 



Seisura inquieta. Restless Fly-catcher. — The Scissor-grinder is 

 plentiful — a fine rnd interesting bird to observe with its lustrous 



