1G0 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



less while looking for insects upon the tree stems to which it 

 resorts. 



During a summer day of the past year, while accompaning 

 friends along a portion of the Werribee River, Victoria, we took 

 part in a play in which the principal act was performed by 

 members of the Tree-Runner genus. Our first interest was in a 

 grub that lay quiet in the Sittella's mouth, as we were inquisitive 

 enough to know whether the old bird had any objection to our 

 looking on at the anticipated feeding of the young. We were not 

 kept waiting long for the information, but we were for the results. 

 Ten minutes or more that bird continued to fly from bough to 

 bough, and finally decided to creep down the main stem to a 

 crevice in the bark in which was carefully hidden a young and 

 fully fledged bird, temporarily secreted. It was fed, and one of us 

 took hold of it ; what followed in part may be easily anticipated. 

 There was an uproar by the young bird, followed by three old 

 birds, and all became as tame as are the Fantails. The graceful 

 flying and nearness of their repeated approaches astonished us, 

 showing an inclination to rest upon our hands, just with that in- 

 stinctive feeling that tells one exactly when to retire for safety 

 sake. These delicate advances on the part of three adult birds 

 instead of two were followed by three more of the same species 

 joining the group, but keeping at a distance. These latter were 

 young birds. The adult Sittellas rested in the air with a full ex- 

 pansion of the golden-colored wings, as if for the time from their 

 wild habits tamed, and for moments perched within a few inches 

 of the hand that held the young. The whole scene now was one 

 of blended animation — timber and birds — with the flying forms 

 passing between and over the four members who constituted our 

 party. The birds soon sought the higher branches, and we faced 

 the ascent of a steep and rugged hill. 



ORNITHOLOGICAL NOTE. 



The Extension of Localities of the Large-billed 

 Scrub-Wren (Sericornis magnirostris). 

 Hitherto this modest-coloured bird has only been recorded 

 for the eastern coastal region, from Rockingham Bay in the 

 north to the district of Sydney in the south, where it is considered 

 rare. During a collecting trip undertaken for some Melbourne 

 naturalists, Mr. Harry Barnard found the Large-billed Scrub- Wren 

 at Cape York, Queensland, season 1896-7, while Mr. A. C. 

 Smart has kindly lent me, for examination, a skin of this species 

 which he shot from a small family at Loch, South Gippsland, 

 Victoria. 



No doubt these two localities are the respective limits, north 

 and south, of the geographical distribution of the species. 



14th February, 1898. A. J. Campbell. 



