THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 73 



beach a nest made of seaweed, placed in a dead branch almost 

 enveloped in the aquatic weeds. 



By my wish a correspondent, having the opportunity in the 

 Heytesbury Forest, gave his attention to the nidification, and 

 made the following observations upon this bird, finding it 

 to be one of the earliest nesters in his district. Before 

 any sign of a nest was shown, a Sericornis placed a few 

 grasses together in a thick-leafed bush, and continued to increase 

 the mass for thirty minutes, when it discontinued and gave vent 

 to a number of grating notes to make up for lost vocal time, and 

 appealed to its mate, who had been hopping about branches 

 close by watching the operation, for a recognition of its work. 

 This was at n a.m., and it then adjourned work until 6 a.m. the 

 following morning, when one hour's work was given to the nest, 

 during the whole of which time a series of peculiar grating calls 

 was given forth, and nothing more was done until the same hour 

 of the third morning (18th September, 1896), when the roomy 

 cell of homogeneous plant matter received the addition of an 

 inner wall of another grassy material (mainly old withered 

 leaves). The bird now made an alteration in the time-table, and 

 during the fourth, fifth and sixth mornings laboured from about 

 an hour before noon to an hour after, working leisurely 

 throughout the time until the lining was completed. On the 

 seventh day the first egg was laid ; colour — brownish purple 

 spots and short streaks on a ground of lighter similar shades. 

 The second egg was deposited on the ninth day of the month, 

 and the third egg on the eleventh. On the fourteenth the bird 

 had set itself to the task of incubation. 



In regular visits to four nests the eggs were found to be laid 

 each forenoon early ; the young birds hatched out on the twenty- 

 third day from time of laying third egg, and the young were able 

 to fly on the fifteenth day from the breaking of the shell. The 

 family immediately begins a nomadic life, and the locality of the 

 nest is left to other birds before the morning of the following 

 day. During time of incubation the sitting bird leaves the nest 

 to feed at early morning and evening, and at night returns with a 

 small feather or some downy plumage, so that gradually the 

 internal layer of its house is completed to its satisfaction. 



In six nests observed in that district, two were lined with the 

 fur of rabbits, the others with feathers ; all were inclined, with the 

 entrance protected from above, and all faced the north-east, 

 which is the fine weather quarter at that period of the year. It 

 was noticeable that the intelligence of the birds led them to 

 build the external portion of their dome nest during rain or early 

 morning, when the wiry grasses were pliable, and the wet 

 softened material could be the more easily adjusted to the 

 required shape, while the inner layer was constructed at midday, 

 when the material was drier. 



