Vol. XII. 

 191J 



1 Fletcher, Occurrence of Cisticola in Tasmania. ^7^ 



Occurrence of Cisticola in Tasmania. 



By (Miss) J. A. Fletcher, R.A.O.U., Springfield, Tasmania. 



Since September, 1911, observations have pointed to the exist- 

 ence of Cisticola exilis in the Springfield district, Tasmania. 



A few days prior to 25th September a schoolboy injormed me 

 that he had found, in a tussock, a nest containing three blue- 

 coloured eggs. I asked him whether he could find it again. He 

 said that he did not think so, as he had come upon it suddenly 

 while hunting for cows, and had not taken notice of the sur- 

 roundings. This reminded me that, on ist March, 1911, I had 

 flushed a small bird on the grassy flats of the Brid River. When 

 the bird flew I had said to myself, " A Cisticola ! " then " Rubbish ! 

 these birds are not found in Tasmania." Some little distance 

 away I saw some Emu-Wrens [Stipiturus malachurus), and 

 thought that I might have mistaken one for a Cisticola, though 

 their actions were so different from what I remembered of the 

 Cisticola in Queensland. 



A few days afterwards a young lady asked me whether I did 

 not think that the "Marsh-Bird" laid pretty eggs. I replied, 

 " Yes, a purplish-brown," thinking it was the CalamantJms she 

 was referring to. " Oh, no ! " she said, " I mean the other 

 ' Marsh-Bird.' It builds a small nest, low down, and lays three 

 or four blue eggs, with reddish spots towards one end." Further 

 questioning revealed the fact that she had found, some years 

 ago, two nests. Her family always called the birds "Hedge- 

 Sparrows " or " Marsh-Birds" with the drooping tail, to dis- 

 tinguish them from the Calamanthiis, locally called the " Cocktail." 

 I determined to hunt for the bird ; but it was 19th November 

 before my sister and I flushed one and followed it across a grassy, 

 dry swamp. This year (1912) both my sister and I have seen 

 the bird several times ; but I have not yet been able to obtain a 

 specimen. The bird appears to be slightly larger than the 

 specimen in the Hobart Museum, and the plumage a deeper 

 brown ; but it resembles the figure in Dr. J. A. Leach's "Australian 

 Bird Book." The bird is not very common ; but the grassy flats 

 in this district are of no great extent. 



In October, 191 1, the schoolboys at South Springfield were 

 asked whether they had ever found a bird's nest something like 

 a Wren's, but containing eggs of a blue colour. Three boys 

 answered " Yes," and one boy said, " But, teacher, the eggs have 

 reddish-brown spots upon them at one end." This confirmed 

 previous statements. On 2nd November, 1912, I was told that 

 a " Marsh-Bird" had reared a brood in a small clump of black- 

 berries. The nest was found when new ; it contained three blue 

 eggs with reddish spots. The young were reared. I took the 

 old nest ; it did not contain any fragments of egg-shell, but on 

 the ground beneath a few pieces of blue shell were discovered. 

 The nest was composed of shreds of bark, feathers, and some 

 grass. On 25th November a schoolboy reported the finding of 



