INSESSORES. 431 



be regarded as specific. It is said to be very Thrush-like in 

 its habits and disposition, and, as its long legs would lead us 

 to suppose, to resort much to the ground, but to take readily 

 to the branches of trees when its haunts are intruded upon. 

 Its food consists of insects, and probably berries, fruits, and 

 snails. 



Since my account of this species was printed in the folio 

 edition, I have received its eggs, accompanied by the follow- 

 ing notes from the late F. Strange of Sydney : — 



" I never saw any bird whose actions are more graceful than 

 those of the Vitta strepitans, when seen in its native brushes, 

 where its presence is indicated by its singular call, resembling 

 the words ' want a watch,' by imitating which you can call it 

 close to the muzzle of your gun ; no sooner, however, does it 

 commence breeding, than it becomes shy and retiring, keeping 

 out of sight in the most artful manner, moving about from 

 place to place, and occasionally uttering its cry until it has 

 drawn you away from the nest. The nests I have seen were 

 generally placed in the spur of a fig-tree, sometimes near the 

 ground, and were outwardly constructed of sticks and lined 

 with moss, leaves, and fine pieces of bark ; the eggs are four 

 in number," of a pale creamy -white, marked all over with 

 irregularly-shaped blotches of brown and deep vinous grey, 

 the latter appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell; 

 they are one inch and a quarter in length by seven-eighths of 

 an inch in breadth. 



The sexes present but little differences either in colour or 

 size; some specimens, which I take to be males, however, 

 have the tail-feathers more largely tipped with green than 

 others. 



Crown deep ferruginous, with a narrow stripe of black 

 down the centre ; on the chin a large spot of black, termi- 

 nating in a point on the front of the neck, and uniting to a 

 broad band on each side of the head, encircles the crown, and 

 terminates in a point at the back of the neck ; back and wings 



