ASHBY— Australia'^ Mocking Bird. 8!^ 



(7) the piping flute notes of the White-backed Magpie 

 {Gynnorhina hypoleuca leuconota Gould) ; again a stillness 

 that could be felt, and 



(8) then came the shrill whistle of the Crimson Parrot 

 {Platycercus elegans elegans Gmelin) , very similar to that of 

 the Adelaide Rosella, which most of my readers know so well. 

 Silence was then followed 



(9) by the call of the Grey Crow Shrike {NeosU'epera ver- 

 sicolor Vieill) but better known as ( iS. cun •icaudata Vieill.) , a 

 bird I have never seen in any other part of Australia, and it is 

 just 34 years since I previously collected it within 20 miles of 

 Yinnar. In spring and summer this bird keeps to the higher 

 ranges and forest country, only coming down to the orchards as 

 winter approaches. 



(10) After a short pause we listened to a perfect imitation 

 of the familiar whistling of the Victorian Grey Shrike-Thrush 

 {Colluricincla harmonica victoriae Mat.) ; the usual "Bob, bob 

 Whitehead" series of notes was most plain. 



(11) The whistle of another parrot was distinguished by 

 my companions, but being unfamiliar to me, I did not recognise 

 it, namely the Victorian King Parrot {Alisterus cyanopygius 

 neglectus Mat.) ; its whistle was rather dovetailed in with 

 others. 



(12) The last production that we were able to easily recog- 

 nise was that of the Victorian ^Tiite-throated Thickhead 

 {Pachycephala pectoralis youngi Mat.) ; only a portion of the 

 full Nightingale-like notes of this splendid songster were pro- 

 duced, but there was no doubt as to their identity, the typical 

 "swish sound" completing the series. 



(13) In addition to the foregoing, the twittering of some 

 of the small insectivorous birds were imitated splendidly. 



While we were careful to record the series, the order of 

 production was not accurately preserved ; for instance, the But- 

 cher Bird's long run of flute-like notes was produced several 

 times during the performance, as were the notes of several 

 others — the Wattle Bird and the Thickhead, being imitated 

 more than once. 



To the above record of the performance of this particular 

 bird as heard by the writer, my friends with whom I was stay 

 ing (and who have lived 30 years in the locality) were able to 

 add some interesting examples of the powers of mimicry of 

 the Lyre Bird. 



