584 PROCEEDINGS OF SECTION D. 
three weeks the bird had rebuilt the old nest twice in another 
position in the same tree, laying each time another set of three 
eggs. ‘The curious part of the affair was that the succeeding sets 
were much lighter in colour, the last being almost white, with a 
few faint spots. Here may be a hint on egg-colouration, in which 
it appears that in eggs produced frequently and rapidly the colour 
pales out. 
Breeding season, August or September to January ; the chief 
months, both in Tasmania and on the mainland, being October to 
December. 
ACANTHORHYNCHUS SUPERCILIOSUS, Gould. 
“‘ White-browed Spine-bill.” 
Figure.—Gould, Bds. of Australia, fol., vol. iv, pl. 62. 
Reference.—Cat. Bds. Brit. Mus., vol. ix, p. 145. 
Previous Descriptions of Eggs.—Gould, Bds. of Austr. (1848) ; 
also, Hdbk., vol. 1, p. 554 (1865). 
Geographical Distribution.—South and West Australia. 
Nest.—Cup shaped, neat, compact, round ; composed chiefly of 
rootlets enveloped with strips of bark matted with spider’s web ; 
inside lined with the dark red downy substance of Banksia cones 
or with Zamia wool, fur, &c. ; usually placed in a bush or low 
tree such asa Banksia. Dimensions over all 2} inches by 2 inches 
in depth ; egg cavity 1} inches by 1} inches deep. 
L£qgs.—Clutch, 1-2; lengthened in form; texture fine; on 
surface faint trace of gloss; colour pale buff or soft pinkish-white, 
darker on the apex, finely spotted, more particularly on the apex, 
with chestnut and dull purplish-brown. Dimensions of single 
examples in parts of an inch—(1) ‘78 x ‘52; (2) 75 x ‘53. 
Observations.—There is no mistaking the fine, little western 
Spine-bill, with its white eyebrows. Mr. Wm. White, of South 
Australia, informs me he has identified this species as far eastward 
as Kangaroo Island, where he took several nests. Therefore it is 
on his authority that I have given South Australia as a habitat of 
the bird. 
Gould has described .- detail the nest, stating that the eggs are 
two in number. Possibly that may be the number laid at the 
height of the breeding season ; but at the beginning of the season 
I found one only. On the lst October, 1889, at King George’s 
Sound, I discovered two nests of the White-browed Spine-bill 
building, and watched them carefully. A single egg each was the 
result. Another nest I found had also a single egg, slightly 
incubated ; while a fourth nest, found on the 7th, contained one 
young bird. Three nests out of the four were situated on a small 
prickly-leafed variety of Banksia at a height varying from 5 to 
8 feet from the ground. 
