THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 141 



I was not successful in finding any nests last season, though I 

 made diligent search. 



Owing to the absence of bush fires last summer the birds were 

 more numerous this spring than for some years, hence I devoted 

 all my spare time during the latter part of September and the 

 whole of October in searching for their nests. On 26th Septem- 

 ber I found a nest in which were three eggs slightly incubated. 

 The nest was placed at a height of 18 inches from the ground 

 among low dense scrub in a swampy locality. On the same date 

 I also discovered the nest exhibited to-night, which the birds 

 deserted, probably owing to my disturbing their nesting operations, 

 as I saw the female within a few feet of the nest. This nest 

 I have brought with as much surroundings as possible, and it 

 will, I think, enable all interested to get a fairly good idea of the 

 situations favoured by these birds for nesting. In this instance 

 a space of two feet separated the nest from the ground, and in 

 every instance coming under my notice the nests are situated 

 among scrub, thick, low, and dense, and matted together with 

 the wiry creeper as in the case of the nest exhibited. I subse- 

 quently found one nest and three fresh eggs ; also, two nests, 

 containing three and four eggs respectively, both the latter sets 

 being nearly hatched; besides two others containing young birds. 



As all the nests were at a considerable distance from my home, 

 1 had no opportunity of watching them for more than a brief 

 period, which, however, enabled me to observe the female return 

 to the nest on two occasions, and take her place upon the eggs. 

 This she apparently does by " backing " into the nest, hence her 

 long tail sticks outwards through the entrance and over her head, 

 a conclusion forced upon me (even without the necessity of eye- 

 witnessing) from the extreme length of the tail and size and 

 shape of the nest. The eggs are somewhat large for the bird, and, 

 like many other species, differ considerably in their markings. 

 Nearly all of those taken by me may be likened to the eggs of 

 Malurus cyaneus, but considerably smaller. The nest is much 

 more compact than the Blue Wren's, smaller, and much better 

 finished, besides being more artfully concealed. As Gould has 

 truly remarked, the bird's powers of flight are but feeble ; hence it 

 depends mainly upon its wonderful activity upon the ground as a 

 means of escape from danger, and the dense undergrowth found in 

 the localities it frequents. 



In the year 1863 Mr. E. P. Ramsay has described in the 

 Ibis the finding by himself of a nest two years previously on 

 Long Island, containing three eggs. This nest, he states, was 

 concealed under a wind-bent tussock, near the ground, and was so 

 loosely constructed that great care had to be exercised to prevent 

 it falling to pieces on removal. His experience differs somewhat 

 from mine, as all the nests I have found have been placed from 



