MELLOR—ln the Fine and Mallee. \\\ 



They were very uoi.sy and animated in their actions, threading 

 (heir way thrcMigh the thielv pines, sometimes flying from tree 

 to tree, or hopping and running over the groun«l very quickly. 

 Nunibers of those seen were this .season's birds, and iii the pines 

 Iheir h.nge stick nests were .seen, sometimes so hirge as to quite 

 bend the pine over with the weight. No nests were found 

 to be occupied. 



White browed Babbler {Morganoriiis superciliosus). — 

 Only a few seen, the former bird seeming to take the place of 

 the smaller species. 



Southern Brown Song l.ark \(''tiii-J<n-]i<iiiiphuH craralis 

 caiifatoris). — Fairly numerous on the more open grass land, 

 and on the samphire country, where the females kept to the 

 ground and the low bu.shes, while the males soared aloft in the 

 air singing their well-known call "Want-to-go-to-Egypt." 



White-fronted Chat (Epthianura alhifroiis). — Met with in 

 the open country. 



Red-frcmted Chat {Parepfhiannra tricolor). — Only one seen 

 in the open country. 



Orange-fronted Chat (Aurepthianura aurifrons). — ^A few 

 were noticed on the open samphire country. 



Red-rumped Tit (Acanthiza pusilla hamUtoni). — Only a 

 few ob.served in the mallee. 



Chestnut-ri]m])ed Tit \ Acdiilliizd uro/iijf/ialiM nitherglcni). 

 — Plentiful in the mallee. 



Victorian Yellow-rumped Tit [Geohasileus chrysorrhov.s 

 sandlandi). — From the light fawn colour of the flanks I take 

 this to be the Victorian sub-species ; they were seen near to the 

 Victorian border. 



Black-backed Wren (Maluriis melan ops) .—These beauti- 

 ful little wrens were observed in the country adjacent to the 

 Vicloriau border, usually in the low bushes on the 

 fringe of the mallee, where they thread their way through the 

 thickets with remarkable agility. The males are very shy. and 

 dar( oH" a( the least noise, leaving their more sombre mates to 

 face the intruder. These birds seem to have only just started 

 to breed. I saw a nest with one egg; it was com 

 posed of fine dry grass, lined with rabbit's fur, and placed in a 

 hop bush IS inches from the ground. It measured outside, 

 5| inches long by 3| inches broad ; inside, 3^ inches by 2 inches. 

 The entrance was exceptionally large, being 1^ inches in 

 diameter. 



