Order Passerif or vies, Family Sylviiilae. 101 



idea of it bein.i>- a i-estin<2; place and shelter for the male bird, 

 and ar times occiijtied by the female, for he has more than 

 once flushed a bird from thP ('om])artnient otluM* than the one 

 containing the eggs. 



The nest is a large structure, conijxjsed of many materials, 

 such as dry grass, leaves, flower heads, wool, strips of bark, 

 and many other substances, and is i)la(ed as a rule in thick 

 foliage, the bough of a tree, thick shrn'b, hedge, or the like. Very 

 often the nest of this bird is found underneath and placed in 

 amongst the sticks of large birds, such as the Wedge-tailed 

 Eagles, Whistling Eagles. Mag[ties, f'rows, etc. The nest proper 

 is covered in and often has a s}»out-like enti-ance; the intei'ior is 

 warmly lined with featheis or fur. and sometimes with flower 

 heads, snch as thistle-down. 



Eggs — Three to five in uuiiiImm-. usually ]»ur(' white, but 

 occasionally spotted faintly ai one end willi l>r(~>\\ii specks. 



—By A. Neil McGilp.— 



The most remarkable habit of this species is that of its 

 nest construction. It is really a two-storied nest. An open 

 cup-shape nest is first constructed, and then underneath this 

 the nest proper is attached. Why this method of niditication 

 is resorted to seems hard to solve, for the entrance to the lower 

 compartment, in which the female incubates the eggs, is so 

 cunningly concealed that further deception seems unnecessary. 

 That it is not used as a roosting place for the male bird I 

 proved to my satisfaction years ago, when living at Bungaree, 

 Clare. I visited the nest do/.ens of times just as darkness set 

 in and the birds had gone to roost, but failed to find the open 

 cup nest inhabited. The usual place for roosting was in the 

 lower nest with the female, but I found that a few times the 

 male had roosted in a thick clump of mivstletoe close to nest. 

 If the open nest is made to deceive cuckoos, it is not a success, 

 for though I iave often found eggs of the Bronze and the Nar- 

 row-bill Bronze Cuckoo with the Tits' eggs in lower com])art- 

 inent, T have not yet found them in the top lu'st. The only theory 

 r can advance is that it is built to accommodate the young birds 

 when they are at the early flying stage. The entrance to the 

 nest proper is diflicult to enter for the young birds, and I have 

 noted the young in tlie open nest during the mid-day hours. I 

 have previously pointed out that the Black-banded Whiteface 

 practically demolishes the long, narrow tunnel to its nest 

 when (he young are just at the flying stage. Is it not jiossible 

 that the YeHow-rumped Tit has this reason for the top nest? 



