OF VICTORIA. 131 



During three successive seasons two pairs of this species 

 built their nests at the bases of the same two tussocks of 

 grass. I believe them to have been the same birds 

 throughout the time. There were thousands of other 

 tussocks in the vicinity that could have been utilized for 

 the same purpose without any special effort on the part of 

 the birds — at least, as far as my knowledge of such matters 

 led me to conclude. 



The generic name is well applied, as I do not remember 

 ever seeing so much as a flick of its tail. In flight it 

 makes good use of the valuable appendage, but at all other 

 times it seems languid. 



Nest. — Open, cup-like, with broad lip and still broader 

 base ', made of grasses, and lined with animal hair or fine 

 grass ; placed close to the ground in a shrub or on the 

 ground under a thistle. 



Eggs. — Three or four to a sitting; white ground, with 

 spots of reddish-brown, inclined to form a zone towards the 

 broad end. Length, 0-65 inch; breadth, 0*5 inch. 



