114 A Country Garden. 



and k()f)k-al)un-,-is. wlio become very bold or confiding", taking 

 the .L^rubs rdniost from tlie s])a(le of tlie gardener. Last sprin?:^ 

 a pair of the Brown 'J'its were seen, l)nt tliev (hd not stay long" 

 and quite recently a solitary P)ronze-\\ iiil; IMi^eon has been 

 noticed. It has made its home in a clump of old /'inns insignis. 

 and looks as if it were going to stay. In the svmuner a few 

 parrots appear, chiefly Rosellas, though occasionally a pair of 

 Grass Parrakeets haunt the ])lace. 



In flower and Idossom time. August and September, 

 honey-eaters are conmion. Several pairs of the common 

 White-naped Money-eater ha\"e been seen, while there are almost 

 always a few of both the \'ellow-faced and \\'hite-eared. The 

 commonest of all. the W'hite-ijlunied. or Cireenie. is always 

 about. The honey-eaters are not interfered with of course, as 

 they are. if not particularly useful, at any rate, harmless. The 

 familiar Black-and-White Fantail — or willie wagtail — is com- 

 mon, and is. as usual, the most privileged inhabitant of the 

 garden. Tamest of many tame birds, he hardly troubles to get 

 out of your road, and may be seen flipping about the lawn almost 

 amongst the croquet-players, or perched on the .gardener's 

 wheel-barrow the moment the handles are dro])ped. His rarely 

 seen cousin, the restless Fly-catcher, with his peculiar grinding" 

 note, has been observed once — for several days — catching" flies 

 at a furious rate. Then he vanished, probably to look for a 

 mate. 



Even at night-time there is much life in the garden. 

 It is hardly dusk before the bats come out of the ivy 

 and hawk for insects amongst the fruit-trees. And. before it 

 is quite dark, the Brown, or Boobook Owl is on the "wing, 

 snapping up stray sparrows. Afterwards the lovely delicate 

 owl flits noiselessly about, pouncing upon mice, or beating out .i 

 starling or two from the hedges. And. occasionally, the weird 

 scream of the powerful owl is heard, though the bird itself is 

 very seldom seen. Im-oui a thick group of huge pines quite a 

 little army of opossums, both ring-tail and grey, descend upon 

 the garden at night. There is open and continued warfare 

 waged upon the opossum family, who w^ork havoc amongst the 

 fruit and vegetables. There are no eucalyptus trees about, so 

 that the opossums depend solely on the garden for subsistence; 



