138 CHATTERERS. 



shrubs. Their food consists of berries and of the larvae of insects. 

 The nest is formed on the small horizontal branches of large trees 

 or in bushes, and is composed of interwoven twigs or fibrous roots. 

 The eggs are three or more in number. Some species excavate 

 a hole just large enough to admit the passage of their body, ex- 

 tending two or three feet in a nearly horizontal direction : at the 

 end of this tunnel a chamber is formed, wherein the nest is con- 

 structed. In such cases, the nest itself is a beautiful structure, 

 formed of strips of the inner bark of atcalypti, and lined with 

 finer fibres of the same or similar material. 

 As an example of the group we select — 



I'.u liiiLt iiL\L lyl ttrnthins riifi-cntris). 



The Yellow- breasted Thick-head {Pachycephala guitiiralis), an in- 

 habitant of South Austraha. " This species is rather abundantly dispersed 

 over the forests of eucalypti and the belts of acacia, among the flowering 

 branches of which the male displays himself to the greatest advantage, and 

 shows off his rich yellow breast, as if desirous of outvieing the beautiful blos- 

 soms with which he is surrounded. Its principal food consists of insects of 

 various genera, which are sought for and captured among the flowers and 

 leaves as well as on the ground. It is generally met with in pairs, but the 

 males are more shy than the females. It flies in short and sudden starts, and 



