Emu 



A.2 Austin, Bird-Life near Home. [ist^hi^v 



eaters {Meliphaga phrygia) was very busy feeding their young in 

 a nest built in a small box-tree, and a few yards further on a pair 

 of Ground Cuckoo-Shrikes {Pkropodocys phasianclla) had been 

 breeding for years. The young of these birds remained with their 

 parents for at least twelve months, often being about the nesting 

 locality during the whole year. Four seasons ago I was driving 

 through open forest country, when I saw two Cuckoo-Shrikes fly 

 from a tree, and found on the same branch two of their nests, 

 within 3 feet of each other (young birds in each nest). Five 

 adult birds were attending to the nestlings' wants. The following 

 year I closely watched a pair of birds which nested near my house. 

 They built in exactly the same spot as in the previous season. 

 The three young birds took possession of an old Magpie-Lark's 

 nest in a tree near by, and in it one of them deposited three eggs. 

 The Grallinas had built a new nest in the same tree, and another 

 pair had theirs in an adjoining tree. In other trees in the 

 neighbourhood the following species were found breeding : — Ptilotis 

 penicilliata, Myzantha garrula, Acanthochcera canmculata, Entomyza 

 cyanotis, Tropidorhynchus corniailatits, Philemon ciireigularis, 

 Pomatorhinus frivolus, Coracina robusta, Gymnorhina tihicen, 

 Artamus superciliotisns, Artamiis tenebrosus, Climacteris picumna, 

 Lalage tricolor, Sisura inquieta, Aphelocephala leucopsis, four species 

 of Parrots, and seven other species which build upon the ground. 



**The Austral Avian Record/* 



The Austral Avian Record, No. 2, vol. i., has been published.* 

 Jt purports to contain the names (trinomials, except in one 

 instance) of over 200 new forms or sub-species of Australian birds. 



The additions have been made chiefly through the re-exami- 

 nation (after having passed such an expert as Professor Collett) of 

 a collection made by Dr. Dahl, of Norway, in the Northern 

 Territory some years ago, a large collection made by Mr. J. P. 

 Rogers for Mr. Mathews on Melville Island, and a valuable 

 gratuitous collection made more recently by Capt. S. A. White on 

 Kangaroo Island, and elsewhere in South Australia. 



As John Gould was known in his day, on account of his 

 magnificent folio works, as the "pictorial" ornithologist, so 

 Gregory Mathews may certainly be designated the "sub-specific" 

 author, for his method in very minutely subdividing the Aus- 

 tralian avifauna. 



Fortunately, Mr. Mathews is editor of his own Record (without 

 its wrapper there would be no name or authority for the articles 

 contained) — ^an organ responsible to no society or union. If the 

 multiplication of new forms be correct, then Australian ornithology 

 obviously must be in a very primitive state, but should the 

 differentiation of all known Australian birds on authoritative 



* No. I was noticed in T/ic; E»iu, vol. xi., p. 260. 



