THE JACKSONIAN OOLOGICAL COLLECTION, 
to the scrubs of the rich Don Dorrigo country, in the Upper Bellenger River district of New South 
Wales, in October of 1898, I had some most interesting experiences, and paid special attention to the 
Atrichia during my stay, and was particularly bent on finding its nest and eggs, and lost no opportunities 
of following it whenever I heard its very shrill and penetrating note. They are exceedingly shy birds, 
and hide very suddenly, and like a mouse they crawl under some big log, or into a mass of dead leaves, 
sticks, and bushes, and thus dodge a person beautifully. They frequent parts of the scrub where it is 
damp and dense, and almost impossible for a man to get through, and appear to be quite terrestrial in 
their habits. On the 2oth October, of 1898, a party consisting of four, including myself, left camp at 
8 a.m., after enjoying a good breakfast of damper and curried Wonga Pigeon. We then entered the 
scrub at about six hundred yards from the camp, when almost immediately we heard the noisy Spine- 
tailed Orthonyxes crying out in all parts. Suddenly one flew from a nest which was built at the foot of 
a tree. (See photograph of it also 
in A. J. Campbell’s book, page 
252.) About three feet from this 
nest was a tuft of long green stiff 
grass (Cyperacee sp.), out of which 
immediately after the Orvthonya 
flew the Atrichia. We all rushed 
over, and found it contained two 
fresh eggs, and there was no doubt 
about them being those of the 
Atrichia, considering we all saw 
the bird fly from the nest. We 
then lay down concealed in the 
ferns and undergrowth, in the 
scrub, for nearly four hours, with 
gun ready, waiting for the return 
of Mrs. Atrichia, but it was all 
for nothing, not the slightest sight 
of the bird being obtained. It 
seems very remarkable that the 
female Atrichia has not yet been 
captured ; all specimens so far 
obtained have been males, with 
the exception of one, which was 
caught at the nest at Booyong, 
near Lismore, N.S.W, and a 
description of which I will give 
in this data. I shot eleven at NEST OF THE 
Atrichia rufescens, Ramsay. 
RUFOUS SCRUB BIRD, 
various times, and when I have 
dropped across them in pairs, yet 
on dissection they all proved to 
be male birds. 
My next move was to photograph the nest in its natural position ; then the clump of sedge-like 
Loc., Don Dorrigo Scrubs, New South Wales. 
(Set data No 132.) 
grass (Cyperacee) containing the nest was dug up below the roots, all tied securely together, then carried 
to the “camp” and packed away, and the eggs also after they were blown. This rare find created 
much excitement and jubilation at the camp, knowing as we did that this set of eggs and the nest 
(which are quite unlike any others in Australia) were the first known to the scientific world. The 
following persons formed my nesting party, and were with me when the nest was found :—Frank T. A 
Jackson, L. Vesper, and Jno. McEnerny. 
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