^°' 1^1^''] Macgillivray, Oynithohgists in North Queensland. IQQ 



Arses lorealis (Orphryzone lorealis). — The Frill-necked Flycatcher 

 was fairly common on the Claudie, a denizen of the scrub, where its 

 frail, open, basket-like nest is usually seen suspended, hanging in 

 mid-air between two parallel rootlets or vines. The eggs can usually 

 be seen quite plainly from below through the fine network of the 

 nest. One nest to which Mr. M'Lennan climbed was suspended 

 8 feet below the horizontal branch to which the vines were attached. 

 The birds remained on the nest until the climber got opposite her on 

 the tree, when she flew off. This nest, though open, was compactly 

 built of fibrous rootlets and other fibres, bound together with a very 

 little cobweb, which served to attach a few odd pieces of lichen. It 

 was lined with fine fibres. 



On the 22nd December, after heavy rain had fallen, this species 

 was very busy in the trees in the open forest round and even over 

 our camp. The heavy rains seem to drive a lot of the scrub birds 

 out into the open ; the scrub gets too dank and dark for them. They 

 seemed to find their food amongst the branches and leaves, searching 

 these assiduously, and going from branch to branch. 



Mr. M'Lennan noted a few pairs on the Archer River. He also 

 noted that these birds seem to find their food by searching the 

 trunks of trees and stems of vines, and he has often seen them hopping 

 up round a big trunk searching the crevices of the bark for insects. 

 The female of this species differs from the male in having a black 

 instead of- a white chin. 



Piezorhynchus nitidus {Piezorhynchus alecto ivavdelli). — The Shining 

 Flycatcher is a bird of the muddy edges of the river, the mangroves, 

 and tea-tree swamps, only rarely seen at any distance from the river- 

 bank in the scrub. Several pairs were always to be noted on our 

 going up or down the Claudie in our boat, running on the mud or 

 flitting up into the trees or shrubs overhanging the water, the glossy 

 black dress of the male contrasting with the rich rufous plumage of 

 the female. The young males resemble the female in colouring. 



The first nest containing eggs was found on the i6th January. It 

 was placed in a hanging loop of vine under sheltering leafage, 10 feet 

 above the water. On the following day, when waiting in the boat 

 for Mr. M'Lennan (who had gone ashore to get some -Pigeons for the 

 pot), a male bird of this species, moving about anxioush', directed my 

 attention to a nest placed on a small branch of an overhanging tree 

 at about 8 feet above high-tide mark. On Mr. M'Lennan's return 

 we examined the nest, and found it to contain one egg. The male 

 bird shares the task of incubation with the female. We found 

 another nest on the 27th January in a tea-tree swamp ; it was placed 

 2 feet above the water in a small upright tea-tree, and contained 

 three eggs. On the following day we found another nest in thick 

 mangroves down the river, with the birds in attendance. Several 

 other nests containing either young or eggs were examined. The 

 male always seemed to be more agitated than the female when the 

 nest was approached. The call is a pretty whistling one. The bird 

 was common on the Archer River. 



Monarcha albiventer {Symposiachrns trivir^atus albiventev). — The 

 White-bellied Flycatcher is a common bird in the scrub. Several 

 nests were noted after the commencement of the wet season ; these 

 are usually placed within easy i^each, the highest being 15 feet up. 

 A small upright fork is usually chosen as a site for the cup-shaped 

 nest, composed usually of fine bark and fibres well bound together 



