82 White, The Allied Bitff-riimped Tit-Warhley. {,.f"'oa. 



searching amongst the sampliirc bushes or hopping smartly over 

 the damp soil in search of insect life. I found them easily 

 alarmed, and able to avoid pursuit by splitting up into ones and 

 twos and doubling back in the opposite direction to that in 

 which they were travelling. When alighting they invariably 

 disappeared in the bushes. They pair in the late spring. 



Flight. — ^Weak, and never sustained for long. When feeding 

 and moving from one place to another a slow, jerky flight of a 

 few yards is taken, and the bird dwells for a moment on hovering 

 wings before it drops into the low bush, and immediately disappears. 

 Food. — Insect-life constitutes two-thirds of the food, small 

 seeds and vegetable diet making up the balance. Upon examina- 

 tion of one bird's stomach it was found to contain eight large 

 green bugs, as well as three ground-beetles and some small seeds. 

 A'^o^g.— When feeding, a short, low, chirping sound is made, 

 but when resting in the low bush the bird will give a very pleasing 

 half twittering and half warbling song, not of long duration, 

 and very low and soft. When alarmed the bird becomes silent. 

 Coloration of bill, feet, and legs dark blackish-brown ; iris dull 

 white or cream colour. 



The reason my notes upon this bird have not been published 

 before can be easily understood when it is known that my field 

 notes went on with the skins to Mr. G. M. Mathews, who has not 

 yet dealt with this species in " The Birds of Australia." 



The Eastern Palaearctica and Australia. 



By Robert Hall, C.M.B.O.U., Bellekive, Hobart (Tas.) 



In 1903 I visited the delta of the Lena River* (Maps II. a, VL), 

 and met many of the birds that annually visit Australia. To get to 

 this Arctic section I had to go through much interesting country, 

 and some comparison with Australia should be of interest because 

 of affinities and stronger contrasts. The Asiatic portion is the 

 Eastern Palsearctic Region (Map I.), the delta mentioned having 

 remains of mammoths and fruits of, it has been claimed, an 

 equatorial vegetation. These show Siberia was not always a 

 country frozen in summer a foot below the surface. 



One door to this fascinating region is in Manchuria (Map I., c), 

 where faunas and floras meet. It is there the long-haired tiger 

 of the south joins with the reindeer of the north ; the conifers 

 and twiners touch. Millions of the Waders from Australia pass 

 here on passage to the frozen north in the same May month as 

 a rush of Malay-Asian birds comes in to breed in Manchuria. 

 Most of its own bird fauna at this moment is going to leave room 

 for the southerners. 



* Ibis, July, iyu4, p. 415- 



