ROBINS 



173 



Colonial schoolboy. The male bears a strong resemblance 

 to that of the Fiskal Shrike when on the wing, or flitting 

 about the trees. It builds a compact cup-shaped nest in 



Fig. 96. — Female Black Bush-Robin on nest. (Photo. Hewitt Ivy.) 



a tree or bush, which is generally composed of bents of ever- 

 lastings, and lays three eggs of a pale green colour indistinctly 

 mottled with pale rusty-brown. 



Where this bird got the name it is known by in the text- 

 books (viz. Silent Bush-Eobin) is not quite clear, as it is 

 one of the noisiest of birds, being also an excellent mimic. 



It is a true insect feeder, and is more often placed amongst 

 the Flycatchers by present-day systematists, where it no 

 doubt more properly belongs. 



