^'°'iS"] ROr.KKTS. r>irds of the Cnwltc Jh'lt 289 



What, now, are tliese Small lirown Birds which in the field are 

 so much alike? Here they happen to be — 



(1) Sniicror)iis brevirostris (Brown Weebni) ; (2) Acanthiza 

 I'mcata (Striated Thornbill or Tit) ; (3) .Icanthica piisilla 

 (Brown Thornbill); (4) Geohasilcns chrysorrhous (Yellow- 

 tailed Thornbill) ; (5) Geobasileiis retjnloides f Buff-tailed Thorn- 

 bill) ; {()) Ccrycjouc alhof/iilaris (\Vhite-throated Warbler); (7) 

 Gcrygonc ftisca (lirown Warbler), and (8) Chthomcola .uu/ittata 

 ( Speckled Warbler ) . 



The grouping of them together may seem ludicrous. lUit it 

 is asked that this may not cause even the skilled ornithologist 

 to deride us. We said happen to be advisedly in introducing our 

 subjects. J^et the skilled man ask himself does he know a piece 

 of bush where counterparts of all may not be found in associa- 

 tion? Perhaps A. nana takes the place of A. lineata, but on the 

 whole they are similar ; he will draw his field glasses, focus them, 

 and still be in doubt. Recall any piece of bush road with the 

 undergrowth cleared up by stock, the near-by paddock rung, but 

 suckering. Chrysorrlwus will be on the road, and the others, 

 except perhaps Fusca, which wants thicker stuff, will be in the 

 suckers. Brevirostris and Lineata are in the trees, rapidly flying 

 hither and thither searching the leaves. Albogularis moves rather 

 lazily amongst the twigs, and Piisilla darts from the low bush. 

 Reg 111 aides potters about the ground, but Sagittata seems almost 

 to creep. Fusca is an inhabitant of the only piece of vine scrub 

 which we have, but is legitimately introduced as a type, and 

 his habits are most like those of Brevirostris. Will they be 

 scattered over the feeding grounds? More likely than not the 

 whole assemblage will be found in a small sector, and this asso- 

 ciation is undoubtedly a striking feature. They seem to range 

 systematically their whole feeding ground, whatever the other 

 insect-hunters may do. 



Here immediately, then, is our association, and a grouping 

 utterly foreign to a strictly systematic view. 



What brings about this assemblage in the first place? It may 

 be thought that perha])s so great a crowd will disturb and make 

 visible the insects, but more probably it is for purposes of pro- 

 tection, the warning note of all being the same. As regards food 

 they are remarkably homogenous, which will be seen by a glanco 

 at the tables given later. They do not seriously compete wdth 

 the Honeyeaters, who derive most of their in.sect food from 

 prying int(j deeper bark crevices and from true-blue flying insects, 

 caught on the wing with a wonderful display of "stunting" ; their 

 spare time they spend peering into hollows and chattering at 

 the sleepy owl, as though they did not know he was there ; nor 

 do they compete with the swift-flying Pardalote, who has a much 

 greater range and is a more venturesome customer in the big 

 timber. These vou will know bv their silhouettes, colour and 



