128 Dove, The Dusky Robin {Petrceca viitata). [^^ 



Emu 

 Oct. 



write some articles on bush life for an English magazine, from the 

 first of which the following is a quotation : — " Perched upon a 

 stump near is a ' Native Sparrow,' not much unlike the British 

 Hedge-Sparrow, but of a thicker, heavier buiJd ; very grave and 

 judge-like is he, with his head feathers ruffled up, and a generally 

 thoughtful appearance, as if revolving some important scheme. 

 Self-contained as he appears, however, his weather eye is wide 

 open. With a sudden dart he is on the ground, tugging away at 

 a large worm, the other end of which is still anchored in earth. 

 A few vigorous jerks loosen the lower part considerably, and the 

 worm is now three-quarters out. Slacking his grip for a moment, 

 the aggressor seems to draw breath for a supreme effort. It is 

 made, and triumphantly he flies off to the bush to devour the 

 dainty, or perhaps offer it to his mate, who is busy nest-building." 



The Dusky Robin is not in the least afraid of the human form, 

 but seems rather to enjoy its proximity. Wherever a settler makes 

 a bit of a clearing in the bush, and erects his slab or paling hut, 

 there will this friend of man be seen sitting about upon stumps or 

 on the rough dead-wood fences which are the first attempts at 

 property enclosure, watching his opportunity to help the new- 

 comer by ridding the earth of some of the chafer-grubs and other 

 industrious workers among the roots of vegetation. 



The Dusky Robin starts nesting in August in sheltered localities. 

 In the Table Cape district I found young which were flying during 

 the first week of September. The sweetly plaintive double call 

 note was heard before the middle of July ; it is one of the very 

 first sounds to greet the ear when one opens one's eyes in the grey 

 dawn. During a wet, rough winter I found, so early as 5th 

 August, a nest containing two eggs, built in the end of a prostrate 

 hollow tree. Various are the sites selected for a home, and, as 

 Gould very truly remarks, the character of the nest depends a good 

 deal upon its position. Sometimes it is neat and compact, some- 

 times more spread out and untidy. An example near Table Cape 

 was found on 26th October with three eggs. It was placed on a 

 small ledge in a hollow gum-tree, and was neatly built of small 

 strips of stringybark on a base of rootlets, and lined with fine 

 rootlets. The eggs were of a bluish-green tint, with an indistinct 

 brown ring near the apex, and a few blotches of that colour also at 

 the same end. A few miles from Launceston, Northern Tasmania, 

 on 22nd September, a Dusky Robin was Iniilding a similar nest of 

 bark strips and rootlets on a ledge just inside the hollow butt of 

 a burnt-out gum, at about 4 feet from the ground. Another 

 was noticed the same day just inside the opening of a tall stump 

 which had been hollowed out by bush fires. It was about 5 feet 

 from the ground, and was composed of rootlets bound with bark 

 strips, with a large quantity of sheep's wool round the outside and 

 under side, as well as inside. This was in sheep country, and the 

 little architect naturally used material which was so abundantly 

 to hand. This nest contained an olive-green egg, with a brownish 

 zone near the apex. Other positions often favoured are stumps, or 



