10 CHISHOLAI, Notes on Tzvo Neiv Birds. RfS" 



s]3onrled promptly by Hying cjuickly past and alighting out of sight. 

 .\nother call brought it into view, and afforded a fair view 'of 

 the j)lunip form, brown plumage, and whitish throat. Only for 

 ,''. moment the bird perched there ; then, catching sight of me, it 

 dashed off through the jungle. Yet a third pair was heard 

 something over a mile further along, on a track leading from 

 Uithongabel to Mt. Mermo. In this case the call fi.rst heard 

 was the beautifully-melodious "Peee-poooo." Later came the 

 persuasive notes used by the original pair — the ■'ta-ta-ta-tooaaa!*' 

 Much hunting and calling failed to bring either of the birds latest 

 heard into view : nor did we see or hear any more of the species 

 during our short stay. 



1 agree that these birds are j^robably rare and cer- 

 tainly extremely shy." The\ are. indeed, regular will- 

 o'-the-wisps, and seem to possess an uncanny know- 

 ledge of the movements of "foreign bodies" — which, of 

 course, adds zest to the studv of the species. The voice 

 is alluring in the e.xtreme, and much sweeter than that i)f 

 Pachycephala pectoralis; a Golden-breast which was calling 

 close by one of the "new" birds sounded reedy in comparison. 

 I would not like to say that the melody of our "■ Mystery- I'.ird" is 

 su])erior to that of the Gilbert Whistlerf (the sweet voices have 

 much in common), but the Olive Whistler carries a stronger 

 apjK'a' by rea>on of its romantic surroundings — the festoonci 

 beech-trees, tiie pretty tree-ferns, and the generally mazy vege- 

 tation of the higher i)ortions of the Macpherson Range. These 

 conditions, by the way, struck Dr . Turner as being much in 

 accord with, what he had met on the E'lxir heights, northern 

 X.S.W. Moreover, he found the Lepidoptera of the two pla':es 

 to tally closely; and so it is reasonable to suggest that the Olive 

 Whisiler may yet be found in certain elevations of noTthorn 

 New South Wales. At present the species provides a pretty 

 problem in distribution. 



It is necessary to add that I regard Jackson's bird as undeniably 

 the first record of the Olive Whistler for the northern part of 

 -Australia. .Mr. .\. \'. Agnew reported in The Emu some five 

 years ago that he saw the species on Peel Island ; but, knowing 

 the circumstances, I say quite definitely ( and in no critical spirit, 

 of course) that a mistake was made. Probably Mr. Agnew's 

 confusion arose through a scanty ac(|uaintancc with the drab- 

 coloured female of the Golden-breasted Whistler. 



Two interesting photographs obtained on this trip depict the 

 nests of the Large-billed Scruli-Wren and of the ^'ellow-throaled 

 Scrub-Wren. 



'^Jackson, Emu, vol. 20, p. 267. 

 fSee Emu, vol. Ifi, pp. .S7-41. 



