THE PASSING 65 



losses to eucalyptus distillers in dry seasons. On 

 various occasions in the late Springtime I have seen 

 young forests looking almost bare and stark 

 through the ravages of these caterpillars, the 

 "stingarees" of the bush-boy, whose only claim to 

 favor is that they have a wholesome influence in 

 restraining the tree-climbing propensities of the 

 said boy. I have seen a Bell-Bird's nest in a tree 

 swarming with these repulsive caterpillars, but 

 none of them was included in the decorative scheme 

 of the nest, which contained only grass caterpillars. 



As for the Caterpillar-eater itself, the bird is no 

 more entitled to the name than a host of other 

 species, and it is reasonable to surmise that it got 

 this vernacular title because nothing else was 

 offering. 



There is no cause for wonder in that the Wood- 

 Swallows and the Lalage should come out of the 

 interior at certain times; they are birds which fol- 

 low Summer merrily. But it is a curious thing that 

 two particular Robins, birds which wintered in the 

 coolness of the fields, should choose to breed on hot, 

 scrub-clad hills or plains, what time their close rela- 

 tives Flame-, Scarlet-, Pink- and Rose-breasted 

 Robins are spending the summer in the benevolent 

 shade of mountain gullies. 



The flitting Red-capped Robin is the gem of my 

 dry hills in the dog days of Spring. You hear an 

 airy, quavering warble, suggestive of a child's gela- 

 tine rattle "played by the picture of Nobody," and 

 betimes, if you are lucky, there will appear a dandi- 

 fied little Ariel, who carries his garb of red, white 

 and black with all the easy grace of the genuine aris- 



