Vol. IX 



1910 



1 Whitlock, On the East Murchison. iqq 



the general tint of the plumage lacked the boldness and depth of these 

 features in the latter. Again, A. apicalis is an animated, fussy species, 

 always restless, and seldom silent. I resolved to keep an eye open fov 

 others. About a mile away, and in similar scrub, I came across a second 

 pair, and, though it was early in the breeding season, I resolved to watch 

 them, in the hope that they were building. After the exercise of much 

 patience, I followed them to a sheltered spot in the scrub which they seemed 

 loth to leave. There I spied a neat, dome-shaped nest, placed low down, 

 without any concealment, in the tea-tree scrub. It looked remarkably sub- 

 stantial for an Acanthiza's nest. But there were the two birds, apparently 

 anxious at my presence, and no other birds at hand except Tceniopyoia 

 castanotis^ and, despite the large size of the nest, I was forced to the conclu- 

 sion that this pair of Acanthizas were the real owners. However, I was 

 completely taken in. The nest appeared to be completed, but it was not 

 until more than a fortnight later it contained eggs. They were unmistakably 

 those of Pyrrholconiis {bericor/ns) brunnca. 



I met with other pairs of this Acauthiza later on. It was not confined 

 exclusively to the tea-tree scrub around Lake Violet, as I met with a single 

 pair in some fairly thick country near the township of Wiluna, and again I 

 found several pairs near Milly Pool. It is by no means a noisy or fussy bird, 

 like so many of its congeners, but appears to be somewhat of a mimic. Near 

 Wiluna I heard it utter the "Thrip-thrip '' of A. robnstirostris, but its most 

 usual notes were an imitation of the call of the Narrow-billed Bronze- 

 Cuckoo {CJialcococcyx basalis). There is some evidence that the mimicry of 

 these latter notes has its disadvantages, for on 8th October I found the real 

 nest of this species in tea-tree scrub at Lake Violet, and it contained a young 

 Cuckoo just ready to fly. I handled the latter bird, to the great agitation of 

 the foster-parents, which actually flew in my face, brushing me with their 

 wings. I even placed my hand over one of them. After such a display of 

 courage I let the young Cuckoo go again, and contented myself with photo- 

 graphing the nest, despite the fact of its being much tumbled and disordered 

 by its intruding tenant. At Milly Pool another pair were feeding a Bronze- 

 Cuckoo, which I caught. All this rather suggests that the mimicking of 

 the Cuckoo notes attracts the female Cuckoo to the vicinity of the Acan- 

 thiza's nest, and she takes the opportunity to foist her ^•g'g upon the lawful 

 owners. 



I foimd a second nest from which the young had flown, also near Milly 

 Pool. This was very low down in a small salt-bush. The parents, with 

 their brood, were near at hand. This nest, too, was much disordered, so 

 that I cannot give a precise description of it. It was dome-shaped, with 

 the entrance at the side but not so near the top as in the case of a Malurus 

 nest. Outwardly it was constructed of soft strips of bark, wound round 

 rather than interwoven. The interior was lined with finer bark, with a few 

 feathers and flakes of rabbit fur. The Lake Violet nest was similar, but the 

 remains of an old chaft-bag had been used in the lining, and a piece may be 

 seen in the photograph hanging out of the entrance. (See illustration.) 



Chestnut-RUMPED Tl'i' {Acanthiza iiropygialis). — A very common 

 bird throughout the district, but rather avoiding the scrub imm.ediately 

 around Lake Violet. 1 found many nests containing from two to four eggs. 

 With one exception all were in hollow stems of bushes, some of them 

 remarkably small. The walls of the nests were thin, but the lining always 

 profuse, consisting of fur, feathers, string, or any soft material to hand. 

 Despite the situation of the nest, it is a true dome-shaped structure, with the 

 entrance near the top. The species is double-brooded. The exceptionally 

 placed nest alluded to above was built in a pipe of bark which had peeled 

 ofif a dead mulga, but from which it was still suspended. I photographed 

 this nest, as it is exceptionally substantial. (See illustration.) It was 

 eventually torn from its position. There were fresh Emu tracks near by. 



