INSESSORES. 471 



the tail and moving it up and down in a very singular manner ; 

 on being disturbed it peeps and pries down upon the intruder 

 below, and generally utters a harsh, grating, disagreeable 

 and tart note ; at other times, while perched among the 

 branches of the trees, it makes the woods ring with its 

 peculiar soft, low, very pleasing but mournful pipe. 



During the pairing-season the male becomes very animated, 

 and his manners so remarkable, that it would be necessary 

 for my readers to witness the bird in its native wilds to form 

 a just conception of them : while sitting on the same branch 

 close to the female, he spreads out his wings and tail to the 

 fullest extent, lowers his head, puffs out his feathers and dis- 

 plays himself to the utmost advantage, and when two or more 

 are engaged in these evolutions, the exhibition cannot fail to 

 amuse and delight the spectator. A winged specimen gave 

 me more trouble to catch than any other bird I ever chased ; 

 its power of passing over the ground being so great, that it 

 bounded on before me and cleared every obstacle, hillocks 

 and fallen trees, with the utmost facility. 



The White-winged Corcorax is a very early breeder, and 

 generally rears more than one brood in a year, the breeding- 

 season extending over the months of August, September, 

 October, and November. The nest is a most conspicuous 

 fabric, composed of mud and straw, resembling a bason, and 

 is usually placed on the horizontal branch of a tree near to or 

 overhanging a brook. The eggs vary from four to seven in 

 number, and are of a yellowish white, boldly blotched all over 

 with olive and purplish brown, the latter tint appearing as if 

 beneath the surface of the shell ; they are one inch and a half 

 long by one inch and one line broad. 



It has often struck me that more than one female deposited 

 her eggs in the same nest, as four or five females may be 

 frequently seen either on the same or the neighbouring trees, 

 while only one nest is to be found. 



The bird generally evinces a preference for open forest land, 



