THE FERN-BIRD 95 



for about seven minutes, and then disappeared slowly in the 

 track of the j^ellowheads. " 



In the breeding season, when the female is hatching, the male 

 often sits on a branch near lier and sings, and his notes are not 

 so harsh then as on other occasions. If the saddle-back notices 

 anj^thing unusual, it hops about in a very excited manner, with 

 the wings close to the body, and the head bent downward, and 

 it stops and listens at intervals. When it has satisfied its 

 curiosity, it flutters to a distance. As its wings are weak, it 

 cannot fly far. It is sometimes seen in the open parts of the 

 forest, but prefei's dark, damp, shady places. 



Family Timeliidae. 

 Bill slender, not notched at the end. Wings short, rounded, 

 concave; with ten primaries, the first much shorter than the 

 second, which is about as long as the secondaries. The babbling 

 thrush {Timelia) of India, forms the type of this family, but 

 it is made to include other Old-world forms. It is not found in 

 America. 



Genus SpJienaeacus. 

 Bill short, higher than broad at the nostrils ; no mouth bristles. 

 Tip of the wing formed by the fourth and fifth feathers. Tail 

 feathers ten, long, graduated, with spiny shafts and loose webs. 

 South Africa and New Zealand. 



Key to the Species. 



1. Throat white. S. rufescens. 

 Throat spotted. 2 



2. Darker and smaller. S. j)unctatus 

 Lighter and larger. S. fulvus. 



The Fern-bird. — ^NIatata and Toetoe. 



tiplienaeacus punctatus. 



Above, fnlvous-browu; forehead rufous with a black streak in the 



middle of each feather; a pale streak from the nostrils over each eye. 



Below white, spotted with black; tinged with fulvous on the flanks 



