Oct., 



1918 



Wilson, Ornithological Trip to Nhill District. 97 



feet from the ground ; it contained two heavily-incubated 

 eggs. 



The genus Pachycephala is represented by two species, P. 

 gilberti and P. meridionalis , the former being the more fre- 

 quently met with, and I was fortunate in finding nests of each 

 species. P. gilberti, as is well known, usually utilizes a deserted 

 nest of the White-browed Babbler as a nesting site, but in one 

 instance that came under, my notice it had departed from the 

 usual custom, and constructed the nest in a fork beside the 

 Babbler's nest ; so close was it, however, that it looked like a 

 bulge upon the Babbler's nest. One nest of this species that I 

 located when in course of construction eventually contained 

 the unusual complement of four eggs, which, I was able to 

 ascertain, were laid on four consecutive days. The nest of P. 

 meridionalis was also built into a White- browed Babbler's 

 nest ; this is rather unusual for this species. Another bird that 

 in the Mallee favours old nests of the Babbler is the Harmonious 

 Shrike-Thrush, the notes of which, as I pointed out in a previous 

 paper in The Emu, differ greatly from those inhabiting southern 

 Victoria. The eggs also are smaller. Since my return I have 

 received a unique set of eggs of this bird from Mr. Oldfield ; 

 they are almost entirely devoid of markings. 



Scrub-Robins, Drymodes brunneopygins, were fairly plentiful 

 in the Broom-bush country, and I succeeded in finding five 

 nests, all of which were just ready for eggs. In each case, 

 however, although T studiously avoided touching the nests, 

 they deserted them. One pair of birds rebuilt near by, but I 

 only found their second nest the day before my departure. 

 One large young one was seen in the scrub, and was being fed 

 by both parents. The notes of the Scrub- Robin, although 

 uttered in a low tone, are remarkable for their carrying power, 

 and this is often very misleading when one is endeavouring to 

 locate a bird. Hylacola cauta is very rare at Winiam, and 

 was only noticed on three occasions. 



The common wren is the Purple-backed species, Malurus 

 assimilis, and altogether I found seven nests. Four contained 

 newly-hatched chicks, one was being constructed, and the other 

 two contained sets of four eggs, one set being fresh and the 

 other heavily incubated. Four eggs seem to be the usual 

 complement, as three of the nests contained four young. 

 Having had no previous experience of the nidification of this 

 species, I at first spent much time searching in fairly thick 

 cover, but later discovered that they select the most ridiculously 

 open situations. They seem to rely for protection upon the 

 old appearance of the nest. Most of them I found might 

 easily pass at a first glance for one of last year's nests. One 

 was placed at the foot of a dead Banksia, another in the bare 



