140 



AX AUSTRALIAN BIRD- BOOK. 



10 308 Grass- Wren, Amytornis textilis, V., C.A., W.A. 

 10 Stat. v.r. plains, dense scrubs 6.2 



Upper dark-brown striped white; under paler; flanks rust- 

 red; seldom flies; progresses like a rubber ball; tail 

 erect; f., sim. Insects. 

 309 Striated Grass-Wren (Black-cheeked), A. striatus, 



N.S.W., V., C.A., W.A. Stat. v.r. dense scrubs 6.8 



Like 308, but black stripe on cheek; plumage strongly 

 rufous; runs, seldom flies; f., sim. Insects. 



are of the light tawny color that so well matches desert sands. 

 It is very difficult to get a second look at one, as it hides in the 

 grass and scrub, and almost refuses to be flushed. Sometimes it 

 nearly allows itself to be walked upon. 



Fourteen of the 17 members of the Wood-Swallow family 

 are confined to the Australian region. The White-rumped 

 Wood-Swallow extends from Australia through the islands to the 

 Andaman Islands; another kind is found in India. Ceylon, and 

 Burma. Some kinds are migratory. They appear suddenly in great 

 companies, build a flimsy, careless nest in any spot high or low, 

 and soon have the young on the wing. They are the "Blue-Birds," 

 "Summer-Birds," or "Martins" of our youth. Some of these 

 birds have the remarkable habit of hanging in a cluster similar 

 to a great swarm of bees. Like Honey-eaters, they take honey 

 from the flowering eucalypts. The street trees of Bendigo were 

 alive with these birds in May, 1909. The Sordid Wood-Swallow 



