THE BUSH HUT 23 



Nests of the Striated Tit-Warbler [A. lineata] 

 were not so easily discovered as those of the little brown 

 bird, its cousin. They were usually suspended from 

 slender twigs, and half hidden among leaves. One that 

 we found was a model, and when the brood had flown 

 we took it to the hut as an ornament for the '''mantel- 

 piece." Oval-shape, and about five inches in length, 

 it was neatly and strongly made of thin shreds of red- 

 brown bark; the domed side entrance had a slight 

 ledge threshold and window-sill combined. The in- 

 terior, cosily lined with soft material, held three pearly 

 white eggs, spotted with chestnut-brown, so thickly 

 about the apex as to form a zone. 



All day in spring the Vale was full of bird voices, 

 and we learned to distinguish the calls and songs of 

 over sixty species. Most insistent were the Cuckoos, 

 which called over and over and over again, as if they 

 never could tire of hearing their own voices. Four 

 species were abundant at Olinda, and small birds suf- 

 fered from their presence. Blue Wren-Warblers and 

 Tit-Warblers were usually chosen as foster-parents 

 for their offspring by Bronze Cuckoos [Chalcococcy.v 

 plagosus] and Narrow-billed Bronze Cuckoos [C. 

 basalis] ; the Fan-tailed Cuckoos [Cacomantis flabelli- 

 formis'] selected Scrub-Wrens' nests for their eggs; 

 while the Pallid Cuckoo [Cuculus pallidus] showed a 

 preference for those of Yellow-breasted Shrike-Robins 

 and Honey-eaters. We were fortunate to witness a 

 Bronze Cuckoo chick, blind and featherless, eject from 

 the nest two Blue Wren-Warblers, which were, per- 

 haps, a few hours younger. It was an interesting 

 but unpleasant sight, this tragedy of Birdland. 



What impels Cuckoo nestlings to clear the nest of 

 the foster-parents' eggs, or chicks, as the case may be? 

 My own conclusions, the fruit of both observation and 

 reflection, are given in a paper entitled "The Origin 

 and Development of Parasitical Habits in the Culcu- 

 lidaB":* 



-"The Emu," Vol. VI., Part 2, pp. 55-60. 



