Vol 

 19 



ix.n Dove, The Blue Wren of Tasmania. 15I 



The Blue Wren of Tasmania : Some Details of its 



Life^History. 



By H. Stuart Dove, F.Z.S, &c. 



Mr. David Seth-Smith, F.Z.S., after various experiences among 

 the birds of Australia, says that of all he saw he liked no species 

 so well as the glorious Blue Wren. Probably each one who 

 notices at all the birds around him has a leaning towards some 

 particular kind, which seems to appeal to him more than the 

 rest, and in my own case I will confess that the beautiful 

 Yellow-throated Honey-eater {Ptilotis flavigularis, Gould), 

 peculiar to Tasmania and adjacent islands, and with a voice 

 recalling bubbling springs, exercises this fascination. But this 

 by no means displaces our feeling of affection for the confiding 

 little Wren, as he comes hopping with his family to our feet 

 while we are digging or splitting timber, or even through the 

 open door into the bush-kitchen in search of stray crumbs. 



Hitherto we have alwaj^s known the long-tailed species as 

 " Malurus gouldi, Sharpe," but in Mathews' "Handlist of the 

 Birds of Australasia," published in 1908, it is given as "■ M alums 

 cyaneus, Ellis," and as this list is founded on the priority system, 

 which now obtains in the naming of all kinds of natural history 

 specimens, by this title it must be known for the future. The 

 plumage of the young male before he dons his distinctive attire 

 is brown, like that of the female, except that a few months after 

 leaving the nest he acquires a blue tint in the tail feathers, those 

 of the female remaining brown on the upper side and greyish 

 beneath. When in mating attire the male is adorned with 

 brilliant turquoise crown, cheeks, and mantle, while the throat 

 and back of neck are of a deep blue-black ; the tail is light blue 

 on the under side, much darker on the upper. The beak is black 

 and legs grey. The remainder of the plumage resembles that of 

 the female, brown on the upper side and grey beneath. The 

 female has, when mature, a reddish-brown beak, the same tint 

 extending to the lores, and reddish legs. 



The nesting season extends from early in September to end of 

 December, during which period two broods are commonly reared, 

 and probably a third is sometimes undertaken. The female ap- 

 pears to do all the building and incubation, the male never having 

 been found by me on the nest,* but he assists in rearing the brood. 

 Two nests have been under constant observation this spring in 

 north-west Tasmania. The first, found finished by 21st Sep- 

 tember, was of the usual domed type, placed about 2 feet 6 inches 



* Regarding the mainland species, Mrs. Margaret Lea, writing (15/1 1/09) from Robe, 

 S.A., states : — " On two occasions last week I flushed the male Blue Wren from the 

 same nest. The nest contained three eggs — one was hatched yesterday. When 

 the male flew from the nest, however, two females (possibly a third) were close at 

 hand."— A.J. C. 



