AN AUSTRALIAN BIRD BOOK. 147 



F. 128. Vireonidac, Vireos, Greenlets, 112 sp — 24(7)Nc, 



105(88)N1. 

 F. 129. Ampelidae, Waxwings, Cedar-Bird, 10 sp. — 1(0)0., 



2(0)R, 3(0)Nc, 7(5)N1. 

 F. 130. ARTAMIDAE (12), WOOD-SWALLOWS, Swallow- 

 Shrikes, 17 sp.— 15(14)A., 2(1)0., 1(1)B. 

 9 310 White-rumped Wood-Swallow (Swallow - Shrike), 

 16 Artamus leucogaster, Andaman Is., Mai. Arch., 



Papuan Is., A. Mig. r. timber 1A 



Head, neck grayish-black; back brown; tail, wing-quills 

 black; rump, breast, abdomen white; f., sim. Insects. 

 Plaintive note. 

 311* White-browed Wood-Swallow, Summer-Bird, Martin 

 (e), A. superciliosus, E.A., S.A., N.W.A. 



Mig. v.c. timber 8 

 Slaty-gray; white eyebrow; abdomen rich chestnut; tail 

 tipped white; f., faint white eyebrow. Insects, honey. 

 "Sweet, clear whistling note." 

 312*Masked Wood-Swallow, Bush (Blue) Martin (e), A. 

 personatus, S.Q., N.S.W., V., S.A., W.A., N.W.A. 



Mig. c. timber 8 

 Dark-gray upper; pure white edge to jet-black throat 

 patch; under gray; tail tipped white; f., duller. In- 

 sects. 

 313*Wood-Swallow (Sordid, Dusky), Jacky-Martin, Mar- 

 tin (e), A. tencbrosus, A., T., Bass St. Is. 



Part-Mig. v.c. timber 7.3 

 Smoky vinous-gray; wing-quills black; white line in edge 

 of wing; tail tipped white; bill blue tipped black; f., 

 sim. Insects. 

 F. 181. Vangidae, 12 sp. E. (Madagascar). 



is partly migratory, and lives in small companies. Most towns 

 in Southern Australia have a company of these birds in the 

 neighborhood. One such company lives in the Domain, near the 

 entrance to the Botanic Gardens, Melbourne. 



These tame woodland birds, admirable in their graceful wheel- 

 ing and floating flight, destroy numbers of destructive insects. 

 Occasionally, a company has discovered that a good food supply 

 can easily be obtained close to a beehive. Thus rarely they do 

 a slight amount of harm, but the balance is overwhelmingly in 

 their favor. 



Family 132 — Wood-Shrikes — contains two of the best known of 

 Australian birds, for they are to be found about almost every 

 town and city, as well as in the country. The well-known Magpie- 

 Lark has but one close cousin in the world, a New Guinea bird. 

 Its mud nest is familiar to country boys. It is notable that, ex- 

 cepting Swallows, only two other Australian birds build a mud 

 nest. These birds, the Apostle-Bird and the White-winged 

 Chough, are mentioned later. Its dainty, well-kept plumage ren- 

 ders the Magpie-Lark one of the most graceful of birds. Its 



