^'^'c^i!^ 1 J -'^'-"''^^ <■>>>'• Discovcvy of the Feyruile Riifoiis Scnth-Bii'd. 271 



I fancy moisture, rimiiinj; down the Lniiik of tlic tree from the 

 mountain mists, must i^rcatly assist in keeping sucli ra\-ities re- 

 plenished witli water. 



Rifte-Birds are x^ery h)cal in tlieir lial)itat, as each pair resorts 

 to only a coniparatively small portion of the scrub, and, strange to 

 say, more of tlu^ highly-coloured males are seen than the plainly- 

 marked females. Tlie male usually has a special horizontal hrancli 

 of a tree upon which he often sits alone, and peacefully reposes for 

 15 to 20 minutes or more at a time ; the limb is in many cases 

 a thick one, thus frequently rendering it difficult to observe him. 

 There he often renders his unmusical and loud call — resembling 

 " Yass-yass " (rendered slowly) — every now and then while resting. 

 The call of the female is very similar to that of the male, with 

 tlie exception that she utters it with some hesitation, and with 

 mucli less vigour. Another note which she often makes reseml)les 

 " Kac-kac-kac-kac," repeated several times in succession, but this 

 call was only noted by me during November and December. The 

 male and female are not often seen together, or in proximity to 

 one another, and I have only observed the female bird at the 

 nest, and she also appears to do all the nest-building. 



The beautiful Dragoon Birds or Pittas {Pitta sirepitans) became 

 fairly common during November, and their notes or call, which 

 resembles " I-lost-my-whip," could plainly be heard both day and 

 night. . One of their dome-shaped nests was found near the 

 ground, l)eautifully hidden in a "pocket" between the uprigiit 

 spurs of two roots of a Booyong Tree {Tarrietia, sp.) and contained 

 three eggs. The nest is depicted in my photograph accompanying 

 this article (Plate LIIT) 



The delightful little Rose-breasted Robins {Pelroica rosea) were 

 often met with, and their feeble, yet sweet, notes heard through 

 the scrub. The handsome pensile nests of the Brown Fly-eater 

 {Pseiidogerygone fiisca) were often fomid, and mostly in a damaged 

 state, the lining being all drawn out from the back portion — 

 probably done by Cuckoos. 



The Spine-tailed Log-Runners {Orthonvx tcuuniiicki) were com- 

 mon and their loud notes daily echoed through the scrub. Many 

 of their beautiful dome-shaped nests were found built on the 

 ground under drooping tufts of flat scrub grass {Gahnia. sp.) and 

 ferns, and up against the roots of trees, &c. A few were found 

 placed 3 to 4 feet up from the ground in bushes and dense growth 

 (see Plate LIV.) As soon as a nest was finished and ready for 

 eggs, some plundering creature (probably a Dingo, as they were 

 plentiful) would pull the whole of the lining out, and no(lonl)t 

 did so when hunting for eggs. 



The active Rufous and White-shafted Fantails {Rhipidiira riifi- 

 frons and R. alhiscapa) were common, and several of their beau- 

 tifully-constructed nests were discovered. These birds were verv 

 fond of the March flies and would almost settle on a person's 

 head when capturing these bloodthirsty, stinging ]->ests, which 

 tormented us very mueli : several species were met with. 



