204 Whitlock, On the East Murchison. [,.f A'Vii 



I must just add that, on reading further Mr. Keartland's letter, he refers 

 to A. strintus as being the rarer of the two local Grass-Wrens near Lake 

 Way. My e.xperience is precisely the opposite. I only got, and that 

 with much difficulty, three specimens of A. oi^a7itura. Had I been 

 so desirous, or had it been advisable to do so, I could readily have 

 obtained thirty or forty specimens of A. striafus in the spinifex plain 

 near Bore Well. He further states that in the samphires or salt-bush A. 

 lextilis may be seen hopping about and singing. A. aigautura has no 

 song — that I am certain of — but CalnmnritliKs campeslris does hop amongst 

 the samphires, and sings very musically too. Mr. Keartland's description of 

 the situation of the nest and the markings on the eggs, too, is quite at 

 variance with my experience. 



Striatkd Grass-Wrkn {Amytm-nis striatiis^.—TWx?: species, which I 

 had met with the previous year in the north-west of this State, was destined 

 to give me much trouble, and at the same time keen delight. On my way 

 to Wiluna 1 noted it in several places in the huge spinifex plain between 

 Limestone and Bore Wells — a distance of 12 miles — with an unknown 

 extension to the north and south of the track. This was rather a large area 

 in which to locate a small bird's nest, and the number of eligible building- 

 sites was beyond computation. I could only put all my heart into the task 

 and hope for a bit of luck. I returned to Bore Well from Wiluna on 30th 

 July, a very cold day, and I was destined to have a rough time, as far as the 

 weather was concerned, during my fortnight's camp on the edge of the 

 spinifex plain. 



I had very little to guide me in estimating the probable nesting time of the 

 Grass-Wren, so I resolved to shoot a pair and carefully examine the state of 

 their organs. Next day I was fortunate in securing a female. On dis- 

 section, I did not quite like the look of things. I greatly feared I was too 

 early. The same opinion prevailed when I dissected a male. However, I 

 was on the spot, and resolved to learn as much as I could of the habits of 

 the birds, and if necessary return again at a later period. In the breeding- 

 season, at any rate, this Grass-Wren is much easier to find than Amytornis 

 gigantara. The male has rather a pleasing song, and on calm, sunny days 

 he will perch at a height of 3 or 4 feet and pour it forth. He even keeps up 

 the performance for ten minutes at a time if undisturbed, and in this respect 

 he resembles a Calaniaiithiis — another rather secretive bird. The common 

 call note is a clear, liquid, and musical "Tu-tu-tu," and this is frequently 

 responded to by any other males (and possibly his own female) within ear- 

 shot. These notes are incorporated in the song, and are followed by other 

 more rippling notes, which again are followed by further sounds difficult to 

 describe on paper. The whole effect is distinctly pleasing, and in the semi- 

 desert country inhabited by these Grass-Wrens gives life to otherwise rather 

 dreary surroundings. Indeed, were it not for the bird-life on these spinifex 

 plains silence would absolutely prevail. During a month's constant tramping 

 I never saw a kangaroo or other marsupial. Lizards were not numerous, 

 snakes I never saw at all, and, with the exception of the usual bush flies and 

 two or three species of beetles, insect life was not very apparent. The 

 alarm note, or warning note, is faint and high-pitched, but when an indi- 

 vidual is suddenly disturbed from a tussock of spinifex at one's feet it 

 dashes off — a streak of brown — with a shrill shriek, not unlike the effect pro- 

 duced by rapidly drawing one's finger over the highest octave of the piano, 

 in an upward direction. 



My fears that I was too early for nests were fully realized, and after vainly 

 searching in what I then conceived to be the most likely localities, with a 

 persistence that deserved success, I decided to go back again to the neigh- 

 bourhood of Lake Violet, and to return to Bore Well a little later on. I 

 arrived in Wiluna on 15th August, and, after a successful fortnight's work, 

 was back again at Bore Well on the 29th. In the interim I had found the 

 nest oi Amytornis giganhtra — a much more difficult task. This gave me 



