BIRDS OF TASMANIA. 49 



thickly timbered tracts, where it can find an abundance of both 

 insect and animal life to satisfy its wants. 



It is a familiar bird round bush dwellings, where, with its 

 loud and discordant notes, it strikes terror into the hearts of 

 chickens and cage-birds. So far as my observations go, the autumn 

 and winter months are when the Grey Butcher-Bird is most 

 frequently seen about town gardens. A "Jackass" is much in 

 favour as a pet, being either caged or allowed the run of the 

 garden, where it does good work among many noxious insects. 

 A young bird may, by dint of perseverance, be taught to whistle 

 scraps of airs with a certain degree of accuracy. The food of this 

 species consists of large insects, mice, and small birds. Also, 

 during winter, it may often be observed picking scraps of fat off 

 sheep and other skins hanging on farm fences. Like its English 

 cousin, our Butcher-Bird often impales its victims on long thorns. 

 In many instances each bird has its particular bush which it uses 

 as a larder, and this is usually near its nest. Kecently I came 

 across a larder which contained two callow nestlings of some 

 small bird, the remains of a mouse, and a number of large beetles. 

 On another occasion a couple of Sparrows were found impaled. The 

 Butcher-Bird does not at first kill its victims, but impales them 

 alive, for it knows well that dead bodies soon decay, and as a rule 

 it does not like its game " high." Its notes are hard to describe, 

 they being rather " a jumble of discordant sounds." Nevertheless, 

 the vocal efforts of a number of these birds singing in the early 

 morning, or of two rival males courting the same female, are far 

 from being unpleasant. The notes are very loud, and can be 

 heard for some considerable distance. 



Sub-Family Pachycephalinae. 

 *WHITE-THKOATED THICKHEAD 



(Pachycephala gutturalis, Lath.) 



This species is included by Colonel Legge in his " Systematic 

 List." I have two records of it by a good field observer from 

 different localities, nevertheless I do not feel justified in listing it 

 as a Tasmanian species. 



*GKEY-TAILED THICKHEAD 

 (Pachycephala glaucura, Gould). 



Male. " Crown of the head, lores, space beneath the eye, and 

 a broad crescent-shaped mark from the latter across the breast 

 deep black ; the throat within the black is white ; back of the neck, 

 a narrow line down each side of the chest behind the black 

 crescent, and the under surface yellow; back and wing coverts 

 yellowish-olive ; wings dark slate margined with grey ; tail entirely 



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