^'"'qi^'] Whitlock, Further Notes horn Stirling Ranges, W.A- 243 



fly down into some low acacia scrubs and presently rea})})ear with 

 a sprig of very line grass in her bill. She carried this to the 

 summit ol a York gum, hopping about the foliage as though in 

 search of a suitable nesting-site. Nothing more transpired for the 

 time being, and in a few days I lost sight of this particular bird 

 and her mate. I re-discovered them two weeks later, a mile away, 

 in a small group of yate gums. After some watching I again 

 detected the female with a sprig of fine grass in her beak. She 

 flew to the top of a tall, slender yate, and I could just discern 

 the outline of a half-completed nest. The site of the nest was 

 almost inaccessible, but I determined to make an attempt to get 

 it. I returned to the spot on 2nd November. I soon saw the 

 male bird, and he presently flew to the nest and fed the sitting 

 female. I had a rope ladder with me, and as soon as I began to 

 get the fine line over the limb nearest the nest the female flew 

 off, uttering some harsh, grating notes. Without entering into 

 details of how I went to work, I may say that, although I secured 

 the nest, I failed to save the eggs. I found that I could not 

 venture within 7 feet of the nest, and had perforce to cut the 

 branch to which it was attached. I was within an ace of success, 

 when a gust of wind capsized the branch, the eggs rolling out of 

 the nest, and, of course, being broken in the fall. The nest was 

 45 feet from the ground. It was a most beautiful structure of 

 spiders' webs and the very finest of dried grasses. Both branchlets 

 and growing leaves were interwoven in the substantial walls. 

 Fragments of the eggs* which I found showed the ground colour 

 to be French grey, with markings of darker grey and brownish- 

 grey. The clutch consisted of two, slightly incubated. For 

 some reason or other the White-bellied Shrike-Tit is a very late 

 breeder. Another pair I had under close observation had not 

 commenced a nest at the beginning of November, although the 

 majority of birds had young on the wing. A third pair was just 

 commencing to build in a very tall yate on 7th November. 

 They, too, had chosen an inaccessible nesting-site. 



The White-bellied Shrike-Tit is really a smaller bird than it 

 looks. It is the powerful beak and the thick, bushy crest on the 

 head that makes the bird appear so large. In reality the body 

 is very slender, and the tail feathers are narrow and forked in 

 the centre. It is possible, at first glance, to mistake the commoner 

 Melithreptns whitlocki for the Shrike-Tit. or, again, the males of 

 the Western Thickhead (Pachycephala occidentalis) ; but, of course, 

 either mistake is improbable when a good view is obtainable. 



I obtained only one nest of Malurus pulcherrimns. This nest was 

 very low down, like the three nests which I found in the previous 

 year. It was hardly concealed at all, being clear of any larger 

 scrub. It contained two typical eggs. I had other pairs under 

 observation. Either they were very late or not breeding on 

 account of the absence of rain. 



The illustrations with this article include the nest and eggs of a 

 familiar forest bird, the Dusky Miner [Myzantha ohsciira). 



