Mound-building Birds of Australia. 11 



always associated with the raallee or similar scrub. The 

 country where this tree grows is mostly sandy and has a 

 small rainfall, often being intersected with sandy ridges, 

 popularly called pine-ridges, from the fact that the Murray 

 pine generally grows on them. 



The male and female birds differ very little in markings, 

 and their mottled black-and-grey colour harmonizes wonder- 

 fully with their surroundings. As they are shy and 

 solitary, they are rarely seen, but specimens are sometimes 

 obtained by patient watching near their nesting-mound. 

 They occasionally utter a low soft note, and their gait when 

 undisturbed is a slow walk, although they can run fast if 

 necessary. Their food consists of insects, berries, and the 

 buds of a small shrub. They go to roost in trees when it is 

 almost dark. 



The nesting-mound of these birds is generally situated 

 close to some pine-trees or with thick scrub near or round 

 it, and rarely without cover being near. When the scrub 

 has been cut down round their old nesting-place they leave 

 it and form another, but they prefer to make up their old 

 mounds if possible, and the same places are often used year 

 after year. When the birds have selected a site, they scrape 

 out a slight hollow in the ground, from 6 to 8 inches deep 

 in the centre and about 2 feet wide. Next they scrape up 

 leaves, bits of bark, twigs, and other vegetation that may be 

 lying al)out, and put enough on, not only to fill the de- 

 pression, but to make a small mound of it, about 8 inches or 

 more above the level of the surrounding ground. They then 

 form a hollow in the centre of the vegetation about one foot 

 wide and 6 inches or more deep, this being the egg-chamber ; 

 after which they scrape sand all round the nest and leave it 

 until rain comes and well wets the vegetation. The sand is 

 then spread well over the mound to a depth of about 6 inches, 

 and after a few days, when the vegetation has heated, the 

 mound is ready for eggs. The nest is generally made in 

 July or August and the first eggs are laid towards the end of 

 September, but the absence of the necessary rain sometimes 

 makes it later. Both birds assist in making the mound. The 



