^°'- ^'^'•'1 Dove, Some Tasmaiiian Birds' Nests. 239 



sea, i^laccd in a tangle of the prickly-leaved Stellaria pungens, 

 Bron., and bracken fern, and was shaded by a small varnish 

 wattle (Acacia verniciftua, Cunn.) It was composed of grasses 

 and portions of dry fern, and Hned with feathers ; placed at a 

 height of 2i feet from the ground, and so well concealed in the 

 tangle that 'only the entrance was visible when one stooped to 

 peer into the thicket. Had the bird not flown as I made a thrust 

 with my stick among the ferns, her secret would probably have 

 remained undiscovered. In the afternoon of the same day I 

 paid another visit, and was rewarded by finding the female u])on 

 the nest, where she remained and gazed quietly at me. 



To quote a few instances of birds that select the ground for 

 their nurseries, or get so close thereto that they may be con- 

 Fidered as ground-builders, I will describe a ramble along the side 

 of a white gum-tree hill in Northern Tasmania. Hereunder shelter 

 of the fine, straight, young trees, and amid the profusion of 

 Lepidosperma tussocks with which the long slope is covered, 

 numbers of beautiful Yellow-throated Honey-eaters {Ptilotis 

 fiavigularis) were occupied with domestic cares. The first nursery 

 was easily seen, no attempt ha\nng been made at concealment ; 

 it was situated only a foot from the soil, in a small Lepidosperma 

 tussock, and was cup-shaped, deep, formed of strips of gum bark 

 and grass, and lined with about equal parts of cowhair and wool. 

 The dimensions were — 5 inches across the top over all, 2|- inches 

 across inside, and about the same inside depth. Two eggs reposed 

 on the warm lining, one being white, the other of the usual pinkish 

 hue, with many red spots at the apex, sparsely spotted over 

 remainder of shell. 



Another nest was placed in a larger tussock, and was fairly well 

 hidden under loose strips of fallen gum-tree bark. It was constructed 

 of grass, with some of the Lepidosperma blades passing diagonally 

 through the sides and woven in ; spider cocoons were also woven 

 into the exterior, and the nest was situated close to a large, strong 

 web, having a vertical shaft in which the obese arachnid lay hid. 

 The cup-shaped nest was very deep, so much so that the female 

 Honey-eater was almost concealed as she sat, only her head and 

 pretty primrose throat showing at one side and her tail at the 

 other, the body being packed well down, giving the impression of 

 great depth and warmth. She sat without a movement while 

 we watched, and a few days before, when visited by Mr. H. C. 

 Thompson, had had the lens of a camera within a yard without 

 betraying any fear, still cleaving to the eggs, which reposed on 

 cowhair and a Httle wool. 



A third nest was found in a similar situation, and contained 

 three eggs just chipping on 28th October, and on 2nd November 

 there were three young with eyes closed, the bodies partly covered 

 with a blackish clown. The eggs of this fine bird measure about 

 ■9 X .7 inch. The Striated Field-Wren (Calamanthus fuliginosus) 

 sings sweetly his wild little ditty from the top of a tall tussock, 

 stem of tea-tree, or fence-post, all through the cold, often wet, 



17 



