Vol. ^^X.-j Whitlock, On the East Muvchison. ig7 



White-browed Babbler {Poinatostomus supcrciliosus). — Distributed 

 throughout the district. The breeding ranges of this and the next species 

 overlap in these latitudes. 



Red-breasted Babbler {Pomatostomus rubeculus). — I only met with 

 this species around Milly Pool and further to the north-west, along the Peak 

 Hill stock route. I question if it occurs much further south. I cannot 

 recollect seeing it away from the flooded gums, either near Lake Way or in 

 the north-west of this State. It is probably double-brooded. Young were 

 on the wing when I arrived at Milly Pool, and I was watching a newly built 

 nest, in the hope of getting eggs, till the day I left — viz., 6th November. 



Field-Wren {Calainantltiis campcstris). — A CalainaniJms was not 

 uncommon in certain tracts of samphires around Lake Violet. I also saw a 

 pair near Dural station, in an extensive salt-bush flat. I shot one or two 

 for purposes of identification. I could see little, if any, distinction between 

 these specimens and others I shot around Lake Austin. The latter were 

 submitted to Mr. A. J. Campbell by Mr. A. W. Milligan some six years ago, 

 the verdict being C. cmiipcstris. The Lake Way birds were sent to Mr. 

 North, and were I'eturned with the note that they were intermediate between 

 C. caiitpcstris and C. isabcllinus^ with a leaning towards the latter. If this 

 be the case, then C. isabellinus is only an interior form of C. campcstris^ 

 connected by " existing " links. Thinking my birds were only C. ciDnpestris 

 I did not seriously hunt for their nests until too late in the season. This 

 Field-Wren breeds early, and young birds were on the wing by the first week 

 in August. Apparently it is not double-brooded, as later on in the season I 

 saw family parties feeding amongst the samphires. 



Brown Song-Lark {Cinclorhamphus cruralis). — Local and by no means 

 common, being confined to the sand-hills around Lake Violet, with a few 

 pairs inhabiting the extensive salt-bush flats along the Nannine track and 

 the Peak Hill stock route. 



Rufous Song-Lark {Ciiiclor/iamp/ius ru/cscc/is). — A pair or two near 

 Lake Violet, but not uncommon on the big flats around Milly Pool. I 

 obtained one nest with three handsome eggs at the foot of a small bush 

 The nest was a poor, ill-constructed aftair of a few dried grasses. Date, 

 24th September. 



Tricoloured Chat {Ephthiamira tricolor). — These lovely birds were not 

 uncommon in suitable localities throughout the district. They seemed to 

 prefer the open salt-bush flats. They were fairly plentiful around my camp 

 at the north end of Lake Violet, but they had only just commenced to build 

 when I left for Bore Well. On my return from there (14th September) I 

 espied a female sitting on her nest as we drove by. The nest was within 3 

 feet of the road. It contained but two eggs. 



Orange-fronted Chat {Epht/iiafiura aurifrons). — Much commoner 

 than the last. I even saw them in the streets of Wiluna. In the samphires 

 around Lake Violet they were numerous, and I found a dozen nests without 

 troubling to hunt for them. Some contained three eggs, others only two. 

 The parent birds sat close, and would return to the nest whilst I was near. 

 I more often flushed the male from the nest than the female. Perhaps the 

 latter takes her turn at night. All the nests were low down, but seldom 

 actually on the ground. This species was breeding near Milly Pool, but it 

 was distinctly rare there. I was timing the period of incubation in one 

 instance. I called at the nest just when I expected the young to be hatched 

 and found it empty. 



Ephtliianura albi/rons, though frequent around Lake Austin, is a note- 

 worthy absentee at Lake Way, not once being observed during this trip. 



Large-billed Tit {Acanthisa robustirostris).— Th'\s was one of my old 

 Lake Austin friends, where I discovered the species in 1903. It is an 



