Onler Foasariforvie^, Family Muncicapidae. 81 



— Measuienieiirs. — 

 Average diiueiisioiis of 1-eggs : l.S() cm. x l..")! cm. ; lai-gesl 

 egii. -.00 cm. X 1.55 cDi.; smallest egg, 1.80 cia. x 1.50 cm. 



—By .1. W. Mellor. K.A.O.U.— 



Tltis beauliful little bird 1 have I'oiind to be oue of the most 

 useful of our feathered friends, as it lives almost solely on 

 insect food. At Stirling West in the Mount Lofty Ranges this 

 pretty little bird is common, but nowhere will you find it in 

 greatei- numbers than a pair to each particular spot, unless there 

 may be a family of two or three young ones, but these are soon 

 made to "shift" after they ai-e old enough to take care of them- 

 selves, for they are so (juiet and confiding, and apparently 

 peaceful little creatures; the cock birds are ever on tlie alert if 

 an intruder comes along, especially anotlier male bird. The 

 owner of the spot will soon be seen Hying swiftly towards the 

 newcomer, uttering a sharp twitter, which api)arently means 

 mischief, and the intruder usually decamps and so saves a 

 conflict, although at times they meet and "have it out" for a 

 short turn only. 



The Kobins become so tame that they will come right up to 

 the table where meals are being taken 'alfresco', and ]>ick up 

 the crumbs quite close to us. 



During nesting season they build close by in a stringy-bark 

 eucalypt. and rear their family. These they generally bring 

 round the back door and under the verandah, where crumbs 

 ;n-e j»lentiful and worms easily procurable from tlie wet ground 

 iK^arby. There is a plentiful su])])ly of Hies, gnats, and 

 mosquitoes, all of which form tit bits for the iJobin's menu. 



The young are always dull coloured throughout, without 

 aispeck of red to adorn them, and might easily he mistaken for 

 females but for their squeaking notes as they wait for the 

 parent birds to bring them food, and when they espy the old 

 birds approaching they fly to meet them, fluttering their little 

 wings and still more earnestly beseeching for the food that has 

 been brought for them. I noted that the young get the red 

 (in the case of the male) during the flrst season even befoi'e the 

 parent birds have ceased Mttending to their wants. A 



small red spot will apjiear on the ujiper chest, then a spot on 

 either side of the lower breast, and these three small red spots 

 seem to grow very rapidly, and without moulting a feather, the 

 red spreads all over the breast and the robin is in full livery, the 

 feathers of the back and wings also darken as time goes on. 

 This robin seems to like the solitude of the hills, the higher the 

 elevation the better, and will breed there in preference to the 



