SOME USEFUL AUSTRALIAN BIRDS. 29 



account of its aphis-eating habits, it is also well known as a pest in summer, 

 when, gatherer! together in little flocks of half a dozen or more, it appears 

 among our grape-vines. 



One of my earliest recollections of bird life is, when a very small boy, 

 seeing my father, in an orchard near Melbourne, catch a Silver-eye in a 

 large ripe pear, which it had with its friends nearly hollowed out on the tree. 



The Silver-eye is one of the smallest of the honey-eaters, and is of a general 

 olive-green colour, the back tinted with dark grey and the under surface lighter 

 coloured ; it is short and somewhat thick-set in form, and has a short whistle- 

 like cry, by which its presence can be easily located, when flitting through the 

 bushes. It forms a rounded cup-shaped nest, composed of grass, wool, and 

 such-like material in any low bush, in which it lays three delicate pale-blue 

 eggs, and it is not uncommon to find the speckled egg of the cuckoo also in 

 the nest. 



The Silver-eye must be included in any list of insectivorous birds, on 

 account of the valuable work it does in destroying countless numbers of 

 minute insect pests, but at the same time we must allow that in a trellis of 

 unsheltered grape-vines he is a cunning little thief, and can do a considerable 

 amount of damage. 



The Ground Lark (Anthus australis Vig. and Horsf.) 

 Gould's Handbook, vol. I, p. 392, No. 240 ; Leach's Bird Book, p. 176, No. 370. 



This common, and active little brown bird is frequently seen flying up from 

 the roadside, running over the open grass lands, taking short flights or resting 

 in the shade of a tussock of grass. If disturbed when on the nest, it slips 

 away through the grass, pretending it has a damaged wing or leg, and goes 

 through all kinds of tricks to lead the intruder away from its home. The nest is 

 a well-built, circular, cup-shaped structure comprised of dead grass, lined 

 with hair or feathers, placed in a depression in the ground among the grass. 

 The clutch consists of three or four greyish or stone-coloured eggs, spotted 

 and splashed with brown. The nest and eggs match and blend with the 

 surroundings so well that, unless you stumble on one accidentally before the 

 bird has time to get away, you are not likely to find the ground-larks at home^ 



Though spending most of her time on the ground, hunting for all kinds of 

 ground insects such as beetles, moth larvae, ants, and grubs, the Ground Lark 

 has the habit of frequently flying up in the air, trilling out her delicate lark, 

 like notes, both as she is rising and as she floats in the air. Though of a 

 uniform plain, dull-brown colour, her plumage is admirably adapted for 

 protective coloration against the many enemies that fly above all ground- 

 dwelling birds. Her friendly, fearless habits of running along only a few 

 yards away will always make her a popular and noticeable bird with our 

 bush lovers. 



The Ground Lark is sometimes called the Australian Pipet. It ranges all 

 over Australia and Tasmania. 



