208 WiiTTLOCK, On the East Murchison. [ ^^T ., 



List April 



of Tcrniopygia castanotis. Hollow trunks are the most favoured, 

 either perpendicular or recumbent ; but in addition I have found 

 nests under the eaves of buildings, and one in an empty fruit-tin lying 

 on the ground. Only on one occasion have I seen a nest in the open, 

 and that was built in the interior of a very dense climbing plant, 

 which I had to break away to obtain the eggs. The eggs are very 

 handsome, var>'ing in ground colour from pure white to light pink, 

 and the markings from deep umber-brown to claret colour. Some 

 eggs are profusely spotted over the entire surface with small spots ; 

 these usually have the pink ground colour ; others, again, are 

 boldly blotched, often in the form of a zone. The nests are a mass of 

 feathers, fur, down, pieces of string, or any soft material to hand. 

 The female sits close. It is easy to find these nests, as the birds 

 will convey building material heedless of the presence of an intruder. 



Wedgebill {Sphenostoma cristatum). — It always seems to me an 

 error to place this species amongst the Paridae. It runs, never hops, 

 seeks its food on the ground, builds an open nest, and lays blue eggs — 

 all un-Titlike habits. Around Lake Way it was far from plentiful, 

 and I only got one nest. This contained two typical eggs. 



Black-capped Tree-runner (Neositta pileata). — Sparingly dis- 

 tributed in suitable haunts. I found one nest in course of construction. 

 I fear it was eventually robbed by the blacks, as it was empty and 

 abandoned when I revisited the spot. As usual, four or five birds 

 were fussing around during the building operations, but it was the 

 adult female who arranged the material and shaped the walls with her 

 breast. 



White-browed Tree-creeper {Climacteris superciliosa). — Not at 

 all common, and always met with in isolated pairs, chiefly in big 

 mulga or casuarina country. In its habits it hardly differs from its 

 congeners, and its notes are characteristic of the genus. Probably it 

 has a song like C. vufa, but I never heard it — to recognize it, that is. 

 At Bore Well a pair frequented the vicinity of my camp, and on 

 3rd September, after much Avatching and following them about, I got 

 on the track of their building-place. 1 always lost them at a particular 

 clump of large mulgas, which I searched over and over again for a 

 likely nesting cavity. On this date I followed them to the usual 

 place, but took a wider cast around. Presently I spied an uprooted 

 and dead mulga trunk, which was leaning at an angle of about 45° 

 against a big living mulga. From where I stood I could see the trunk 

 was hollow. I walked quietly over and peeped into the cavity. I 

 could just make out the bright beady eyes of the sitting bird and a 

 faint eye-stripe. I tapped gently on the trunk and she came out. 

 Pushing a handkerchief down the cavity to protect the eggs from chips, 

 I carefully broke open the sides, and exposed the three beautiful eggs. 

 The lower part of the trunk was filled with debris produced by termites, 

 and on this a soft cup-shaped bed of vegetable down {Dicrastyles), 

 rabbit fur, and a piece of wadding filched from my camp, had been 

 constructed. This seems to me an equitable arrangement, and I hope 

 that breeding birds will note that I am at all times prepared to supply 

 wadding in return for clutches of eggs. The three eggs were quite 

 typical, and I could detect no characteristic distinguishing them from 

 eggs of C. rufa or C. melanura, the other two Western Australian 

 species I am acquainted with. One egg looked a little different from 

 the other two, having a tinge of neutral pervading the markings. Tliis 



