86 CuRRiE, The Birds of a Gippsland Garden, [voi'^ xxxvi 



that on very hot days they throw their young out of the nests 

 when the iron roof gets too hot. Fortunately for them, we 

 know of this action, and in the evening look for the birds and 

 replace them, or the cat would account for them. 



The Mountain Thrush, Oreocincla liimdata, is very shy as it 

 runs about quickly in the garden in its search for acacia seeds, 

 slipping out of sight on the approach of footsteps. One feels 

 anxious for the bird when cats are about. The Harmonious 

 Thrush or Grey Shrike-Thrush, Colhiricinda harmonica, delights 

 in the scraps we give him, and which he takes away to a 

 splintery log to hold them while he picks them to pieces. 



In the bush, not a minute's walk from the house, are the 

 Spotted Ground-Bird, Cinclosoma punctatiim, and the Whip- 

 bird, Psophodes crepitans. The latter are to be seen to great 

 advantage on an evening after rain has been falling and all 

 the bush is damp. One evening four were to be seen ; the hen 

 bird scolded me while her mate was cracking his whip, while 

 two smaller ones were hopping along the path before me. 

 Then she finished up his " crack " in fine style, but I think 

 he manages it alone sometimes. 



That dear little favourite, the Superb Warbler or Blue Wren, 

 M alums cyanochlamys, marshals his family around the garden, 

 and it is very ridiculous to see a pair respond to the shrieks of 

 a great lazy Bronze-Cuckoo, Chalcococcyx plagosus, which they 

 have reared in the garden. The Fantail Cuckoo, Caconiantis 

 riifiiliis, was seen for a few days only ; we suspected the Spine- 

 bills were responsible for its rearing. The Palhd Cuckoo, 

 Ciiciilus inornatus, can be heard uttering its plaintive notes a 

 little further afield. 



With the Wrens there sometimes comes quite a flock of small 

 birds to the garden, such as the Shrike-Robin, Eopsaltria 

 australis, Fire-tailed Finch, Mgintha temporalis, and the Little 

 Tit-Warbler, Acanthiza nana. Out in the fields in front the 

 White-fronted Chats, Ephthianura alhifrons, have their nest 

 amongst a patch of bracken, and a little away is the Goldfinches' 

 first nest of the season, the second being in an apple-tree in the 

 garden. 



Lovely to watch is the Nankeen Kestrel, Cerchneis cenchroides, 

 circling round over the grassy fields during the high east 

 wind. The Pipit, Anthus australis, which runs among the 

 grass, and a brace or two of Quail, Synoicus australis, are 

 in danger from the destructive desires of this inhabitant 

 of the air. The Little Falcon, Falco Innulatus, keeps the 

 Rosella Parrots, Platycercus eximius, active in their efforts to 

 keep out of the way, while a pair of Allied Harriers or Swamp 

 Hawks, Circus gouldi, work over the swamp, and go home to 

 where they nest, about six miles away, every evening. 



