BY E. P. RAMSAY, ESQ. 323 



out, come in for a share of their dislike. Often a dozen or 

 more may be seen clustering upon a bough huddling up together, 

 pecking at, and fighting with, each other, or screeching, as if 

 holding a jubilee over some common enemy. 



This is not a migratory species, but is always to be found 

 throughout the whole year, and breeds much earlier than the 

 generality of the tribe. We have eggs taken in the early part 

 of June, and others found in October, November, and December. 

 They have two, and sometimes three broods during the year ; 

 August and September being their favorite months for breeding. 



With respect to its nidification (I will quote what I have 

 already said upon the subject in vol. vi. of the " Ibis " page 244,) 

 " I find upon referring to my note-book, that we captured two 

 young, well able to fly, on July 18th, 1863 ; but during some 

 seasons birds breed much earlier than in others. 



The nest is a neat but somewhat bulky structure, open above, 

 and composed of strips of stringy bark, lined with finer shreds of 

 the same material, and the silky down from the wild cotton 

 (Gompliocarpus?) 



The site selected is usually some low bushy shrub, among the 

 thick tufts of the Bleclmum, (B. Cartilaginum) or carefully hidden 

 in the thick rich clusters of the beautiful Tecoma Australia. The 

 ferns and Tecoma seem their favorite places for nestling ; among 

 the clumps of the former, we have frequently found 3 or 4 nests 

 within a few yards of each other, fastened to the stems and leaves 

 of the ferns : sometimes they will place their nests among the 

 dead leafy tops of a fallen Eucalyptus, or in gardens among the 

 prickly branches of the orange trees ; they may be also found, 

 not unfrequently, suspended in a fork of the bough of a small 

 bushy forest oak. 



The total lengths of the nests are generally 3 or 4 inches by 

 3J in diameter, being inside 2 inches deep by If or 2 wide. The 

 eggs, which are usually two in number, are of a pale flesh-pink 

 tinged with yellowish buff, deeper at the thick end where they 

 are spotted or blotched with markings much deeper in hue, and 

 of a reddish-brown tint. In some, the markings form a zone 

 near the larger end, in others, an irregular patch, with a few 

 dots sprinkled over the rest of the surface ; when freshly taken 



