Vol. XIII.- 

 i9'3 - 



Chandler, Bird-Life of Koiu Plains. 30 



an exposed limb, well above the scrub, often a dead Murray pine or 

 acacia — and repeat its calls, with slight variations, for some time. 

 Presently he will give the drawn-out note several times, as a signal 

 for the female to join him, and fly to the ground, still uttering this call. 

 Often the female does not appear until her mate has secured some- 

 thing edible ; then an extra appeal on his part brings her from the 

 nest or nesting-site, answering softly as she approaches, " Coo-yer, 

 coo-yer." At times this drawn-out note is also used as a warning 

 to the female. Both birds will now work over the ground together, 

 the male emitting, at intervals, some of the calls previously mentioned, 

 and frequently feeding his mate. In from 10 to 20 minutes the birds 

 begin to feed back to the starting-point. It is at this stage that the 

 male bird proves himself a past-master in the art of decoying. 

 Leaving his mate in a sheltered position, he suddenly flies across an 

 open space, for a distance, perhaps, of 20 yards, uttering the scolding 

 notes of distrust and doing evervthing possible to make one follow 

 him. The female, in the meantime, slips unnoticed to her nest by 

 a series of short, low flights. 



With great difficulty I followed a female bird one day for fully 

 25 minutes. She ran behind a turpentine bush, and the male bird 

 appeared on the other side about three seconds later. I thought at 

 the time that he was .40 or 50 yards awav, at my back. The female 

 had vanished Curiously enough, following on this clever perform- 

 ance, the male, after mounting to a lower limb of a pine tree and 

 calling " Chip-pip-ee," several times, flew straight to where his mate 

 was concealed. The female utters many of the male bird's notes, 

 but in a subdued tone. Both sexes assist in constructing the nest. 

 A shallow hole is first made in the ground, possibly by the bird 

 turning around. Short, thick sticks are next placed in position 

 around this hole, and, finally, bark. A lining of rootlets or fine 

 twigs completes the nest. Many nests are built against the fallen 

 branch of a tree or a bush. In this case the outer edge of sticks is 

 built on three sides only, with a marked extension on the side opposite 

 the branch. Although, as mentioned, this species appears to exhibit 

 little fear of man, the birds resent anyone watching them building 

 the nest. Two nests which I found building were deserted, presum- 

 ably on account of my remaining too long in the vicinity. By 

 systematic search I was fortunate enough to find the new nests of 

 both pairs of birds. I visited one nest, which was nearly completed 

 when I first saw it, five days later. I could see that it was deserted, 

 and spent some time searching for the second nest, but without 

 success. I returned on the following day, and, after a short search, 

 found the nest, which contained a fresh egg. 



The female will allow one to approach within a few feet before she 

 starts from the nest. It is a certain sign that a nest is not far away 

 should a female be noticed regarding one intently — without moving — 

 for several minutes. Unlike her mate, the female does not practise 

 to any extent the art of decoying. The birds make httle demonstra- 

 tion while an intruder is at the nest. The female will approach to 

 within a few feet and look inquiringly into one's face. When first 

 disturbed she may utter a scolding note, but after that remains 

 silent. Should the stranger retire a few paces, she goes to the nest 

 fearlessly. After the examination of a large number of nests, old 

 and new, it was found that the favourite situation was on the ground, 

 under a turpentine-bush. Other nests were placed — also on the 

 ground — among debris at the foot of mallee saplings, " broom- 



