156 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



interior, but at home in both. Between Grantville and the 

 southern part of Lang Lang it is plentiful, and nearer Melbourne, 

 between Yarraville and Altona, you may at almost any time 

 obtain a variety of skins if they are needed for scientific purposes. 

 The bird, from a little bush top, sings sweetly, merrily, and con- 

 tinuously, with its brownish tail erect and restless. The tail 

 appears by its movements to be an extraordinary appendage to 

 the bird, for besides other actions you learn its intended course 

 of flight by the placement of the tail in the opposite direction to 

 that course which it intends to pursue. Certainly one action is 

 quickly consequent upon the other, but unlike the Superb 

 Warbler in its manner of set-off, that of lowering its long tail to 

 the plane of its body on the first flight motion. 



Another species, as nearly terrestrial as is possible, is the 

 White-fronted Ephthianura, Ephthianura albi/rons, J. and S. 

 (W.), associating in flocks in southern Victoria between February 

 and July upon the high grass and low bushes of open country, 

 uttering its " tang," and becoming as pugnacious as many other 

 birds before the end of July. This is one of four very beautiful 

 and conspicuous species of a genus peculiar to Australia, all of 

 which build their nests at the base of herbs or grasses, or some iS 

 inches from the ground amongst bushes. The birds are early 

 builders, make a cup-shaped nest, deposit three eggs (one each 

 successive day), and induce the young to leave the nest on the 

 twelfth day from hatching out. The young are not born the 

 same day, but with 24 hours' difference in time. If an egg does 

 not develop it lies in the nest for weeks, perhaps until decay 

 sets in, and long after the nest is unused by the owners. Both 

 sexes take part in incubation and in the rearing of the young, the 

 male taking as keen an interest in being a canopy for the new- 

 born as the mother bird. Here is another foster-parent for the 

 Narrow-billed Bronze Cuckoo. In December of last year I 

 found an egg of the wanderer unsuccessfully foisted upon a pair 

 of Ephthianuras, for it had either been placed or ejected on the 

 wide edge of the nest, and there it lay uncared for. 



For three successive seasons two pairs of this species built 

 their nests at the bases of two tussocks of grass. I believe them 

 to be the same birds throughout the time, for there were thou- 

 sands of other tussocks in the vicinity that could have been 

 utilized for the same purpose, without any special effort on the 

 part of the birds — at least, so far as my knowledge of such matters 

 led me to conclude. 



Of the universally dispersed Fringillidse, including 559 species, 

 the most southern members are the well-known Red-eyebrowed 

 Finch, or Waxbill, and the Spotted-sided Finch, or Diamond 

 Sparrow. However, in a recent classification of finches by 

 Mr. Oates, it is mentioned by Mr. Lydekker, B.A. ("Royal 



