from the Blooitijiehl-R'iver District. 313 



exact appearance of a piece of dead wood ; even the markings 

 and colour of its broad beak are similar to those of its 

 feathers. Not long ago I noticed the nest of a Cuvier's 

 Podargus, and at first sight thought that some one had laid 

 a short thick stick across it; but on nearer view it proved 

 to be the bird itself sitting on its two eggs. These birds 

 remain ()erfectly still when roosting during the daytime. 



2. tEgotheles leucogaster, Gould. 



Mr. Hislop found the nest of the White-bellied Owlet 

 Nightjar on November 23rd, 1895, and the three pure white 

 eggs were laid on the decayed wood at the bottom of a hollow 

 branch of a eucalyptus tree. They are very similar in 

 appearance to those of JE. nova-hollandice, but are slightly 

 more oval. They have the same hard, thick, lustrous shell, 

 and when rubbed together produce a sound as if they were 

 composed of hard china. They measure : A 3*00 x 2*28, 

 B 2-91 X 2-3, C 2-95 X 2-28 centimetres. The parent bird 

 was shot as she flew from the nest. 



3. Myzomela obscura, Gould. 



A nest of this little Honey-eater was found on October 23rd, 

 1893, during my visit to Mr. Hislop, and again on October 

 17th, 1895, by Mr. Hislop. The nest is cup-shaped, lightly 

 built, composed of fine rootlets, and lined with a few long 

 hairs, probably off cattle; a few cobwebs were mixed with 

 the rootlets, and cobwebs were also used to help to fasten 

 the nest on to the twigs on which it hung. The nest 

 measures 1^ inch ; internal depth and inside diameter If inch. 

 The first-mentioned was found near the top of what is locally 

 called an "iron-wood^' tree, about thirty feet from the 

 ground and Avell shaded by leaves. The parent bird was 

 secured as it flew off the nest. The ground-colour of the 

 egg is white, lightly covered with reddish-brown spots, which 

 are most numerous at the larger end and form a zone ; 

 a few of the markings appear as if beneath the surface of 

 the shell, they being of a dark grey colour. The measurements 

 are : A 1-69 x 128, B 1-58 x 1-23 centimetre. 



