^"'.V^^'l Royal .1 i(s/r(i/(isi(i)i Oniit/io/oi^'isfs' Ciiioii. 12/ 



lixc'ly Hull' bird, seems lo l)e al\va\s on I he in()\e, and jxjssesses a inosl 

 wonderliil range of notes, wliicli are loiid and clear for so small a bird. 

 Mr. M'Gilp kindlv snpplied nie willi tlie following notes of a nest he 

 observed : — " Nest pcar-shajjed ; intrancc near the top, with a small 

 hood, having the usual tail-like appendage at liottom of nest. Formed 

 of fine shreds of bark; grass, and spiders' cocoons ; inside lined at 

 bottom with fine grass and feathers, attached to small branches ot 

 a mistletoe [LorautJius about jo feel troni tlie ground." 



Pachycephala pectoralis occidentalis. Western Thickhead. — Found 

 all Ihrougli the limber counlrv ; found nesting. A nest observed by 

 .Mr. M'Gilp is as follows :- A cup-shaped structure formed of verv 

 fine rootlets and a few leaves, placed i6 feet from the ground in a 

 small sapling overgrown by a creeper. 



Eopsaltria griseogularis. Grey-breasted Shrike-Robin. — Found in 

 jxiirs all through the timbered country. They were nesting at the 

 lime ot our \isil . and nests with 3'oung birds were found. 



Rhipidura preissi. Western Fahtail. — Quite a common bird, and 

 its strange little soft note would be heard very often in the dec]) 

 !"a\ines near the sea. 



Graucalus novae-hollandiae. Black-faced Cuckoo-Shrike. — Often 

 seen, and a pair was found nesting in a red gum (Eucalypius calophylla). 



Acanthiza apicalis. Bi-okd-lailed Tit-Warbler. — A very common 

 bird, met with in almost every locality — sometimes high up in the 

 forest trees, at others near the ground. They were nesting while we 

 were there. One nest was composed of strips of bark fastened together 

 bv cobweb. It was dome-shaped, witli entrance higli up, jilaced in 

 a sapling 13 feet from the ground. 



Geobasileus chrysorrhous. Yellow-rumped Tit- Warbler.— Quite a 

 common bird, and several nests were seen. One had been added to for 

 some time, and there must have l)een three or four nests attached. 

 Mr. .M'Gilp observed a nest witli two eggs and one of the Bronze- 

 Cuckoo. 



Sericornis maculata. Spotted Scrub-Wren. — A common bird in ilie 

 thick, dwarf vegetation along the coast-line. ;\Ir. .M'Gilp found liuee 

 nests, all containing young. 1 fancied this bird to be different from 

 S. m. osculans, but upon comparing a series I find tlial it would be 

 im]-)ossible to separate them, so that maculata has a wide ran.ge. 



Malurus splendens. I3anded Wren-Warbler.— This bird was not 

 lU'arh- so i)lentiful as the writer expected it to be. In 1889, during 

 m\- Inst \isit to Western .Australia, these birds were exceedingly 

 jiienlitui. ProbaWy the domestic cat gone wild has accounted for 

 their disappearance. These birds were nesting. Mr. M'Gilp dis- 

 covered a nest with three eggs. It was the usual dome-shaped 

 structure placed in a thick lea-tree three feet six inches from the 

 ground, constructed of soft grass lined witli fur and feathers. 



Sphenura longirostris. Long-billed Bristle-Bird. — Tlie writer madi- 

 a determined effort to locate this bird.. but. other than noting a call 

 which he feels sure was that of this bird, and the tracks on the sand 

 in the low scrub south of Cape Xaturaliste (the tracks were identical 

 wilh those made bv the South .Australian form , nothing more was 

 recinded ; bill there is lillle doiibl the bird is still there. 



