BY E. P. RAMSAY, ESQ. 327 



the mouse-ear lichen, and hanging from the sides, are long chips 

 of bark, some of them 4 inches or more in length and | an inch 

 wide, fastened on one above the other with cobweb, the lowest of 

 them reaching several inches below the bottom of the nest. 



The eggs, which are two or three in number, are of an apple 

 green, or light greenish-blue color, spotted, blotched, or minutely 

 dotted with deep brownish-red, yellow-brown, and obsolete spots 

 of faint lilac. Some are thickly speckled all over so as almost to 

 hide the ground color, and in these the yellowish-brown markings 

 predominate ; others are distinctly spotted, or have a zone of 

 dots, or one large blotch at the thicker end without any other 

 markings. They are in length 10 J to 11 lines by 7 to 7| in 

 breadth, and are usually found in September and the three 

 following months. 



Mr. Gould, in his " Birds of Australia," figures four species 

 of Eopsaltria, two from Western Australia, but the other two, 

 E. capita, and the one at present under consideration, 

 (E. Australis,) are confined to the Eastern portion of our continent. 



The yellow-breasted Robin is very common in the neighbour- 

 hood of Sydney, it prefers the thickly wooded parts of the bush, 

 although it is sometimes found in the gardens and orchards. Its 

 flight is short and rapid, and seems to be scarcely brought into use 

 more than is necessary to flit from one tree to another. It is 

 seldom seen among the higher branches of the trees, keeping 

 near the ground where it obtains the greater part of its food. It 

 is an extremely tame bird, scarcely troubling itself to get out of 

 your way. If there is any " clearing " going on in the bush, or 

 a woodman splitting timber, there also will be found our yellow- 

 breasted friend perched transversely against the upright stem of 

 the nearest tree, waiting for any grub or caterpiller that may be 

 knocked out of the wood, and darting down, almost under the 

 blade of the axe to seize its prey. Its usual cry consists in the 

 continuation of a clear shrill piping note, kept up in the same 

 tone and key often for the full space of a minute or more without 

 the slightest variation, its tail sometimes bobbing up and down at 

 each interval as if keeping time. When suddenly disturbed, it 

 often utters a sort of squeak, and upon perching, jerks its tail 

 up after the manner of the true Robins. 



