602 Mr. T. Carter on the Birds of [Ibis, 



nujnhers o( Ptilotis sonor a kept flying round and ahead of 

 rae, and were a nuisance, as they distracted my attention 

 from rarer birds. After some time, one of the birds flying 

 ahead attracted notice by being distinctly rufous in general 

 appearance, though it seemed to be a Honey-eater. Imme- 

 diately afterwards, it perched on the top twig (about eight feet 

 above the ground) of a dead wattle and erected its tail, and 

 was undoubtedly a Grass- Wren. It flew on again at once, 

 and disappeared in a great tangle of dead scrub. 



October 11. I saw a Grass- Wren near the top of a wattle- 

 bush. Its long tail attracted attention as it moved along 

 inside the bush, so I "chirped^' with ray lips, and it at once 

 turned and faced me, peering at me through the foliage. 



October 17. While walking through dense masses of scrub, 

 a Grass-Wren emerged from some low bushes almost at my 

 feet and ran at great spead through other short scrub 

 towards a very large wattle. Just before it reached its 

 shelter, I " chirped " with my lips, and the bird instantly 

 turned right round, and with outspread drooping wings, 

 head inclined downwards and tail extended, ran about a 

 yard towards me, then turned and disappeared below the 

 bush. The same afternoon, while returning towards the 

 station, a bird that at first was mistaken for a Field- Wren 

 {Calamanthus), flew close to the ground from an open place 

 to beneath the shelter of some tall bushes. " Chirping " 

 with my lips, I crawled on hands and knees to within 

 about eight feet of the bushes, which were without lower 

 branches. A Grass- Wren appeared from the scrub, and, 

 keeping under the shelter of the bushes, ran backwards 

 and forwards across my front for nearly a minute, uttering 

 a low scolding note, with wings outspread and drooping 

 and feathers all puff'ed out, then it suddenly turned and 

 disappeared in the thicket. 



October 22. While walking near a wire-fence leading to a 

 well, I saw a pair of Grass-Wrens running at great speed, 

 with tails erect, between scattered clumps of wattle-bushes, 

 which were separated by several yards of absolutely bare 

 sandy ground, as the hundreds of sheep daily following the 



