132 White, New Nests and Eggs from N.W. Australia. [i^f'oct. 



Description of two New Nests and Eggs from 

 North- West Australia. 



By H. L. White, Scone, N.S.W. 

 With Field Notes by the Collector, G. F. Hill. 

 White-tailed Robin [Pcecilodryas pulverulentus). 



Nest. — Rather a compact and open cup-shaped structure, re- 

 sembhng some of the smaller forms of those constructed by the 

 Eopsaltria. It is placed in the fork of a small horizontal branch 

 of a mangrove tree {Avicennia), and is constructed principally of 

 strips of bark, wound round and fastened with cobwebs, and long 

 strips of dry bark hang perpendicularly all around outside, some 

 pieces being almost 3 inches in length. The nest is lined inside 

 with fine dry roots and grass. 



£•0-^5. — Clutch of two eggs, roundish ovals in shape, texture of 

 shell fine, surface glossy, and minutely pitted all over, this feature 

 becoming conspicuous under the lens ; ground colour of a dull 

 greenish-stone, marked with small round spots of reddish-brown, of 

 different shades, and lilac, the latter ai)pearing as if beneath the sur- 

 face of the shell. In specimen a the markings are well distributed 

 over the shell, while in specimen h they are chiefly confined to the 

 larger end, where they form a rather regular zone, and the ground 

 colour over which this zone of markings passes is of a light salmon- 

 brown. In general appearance the eggs approach those of Pcecilo- 

 dryas cerviniventris, rather more than those of the Eopsaltria genus. 

 The pair measure in inches : — (a) 0.76 x 0.62, (b) 0.77 x 0.62. 

 Another pair of these eggs, which are the co-types, were taken in 

 the same locality, and measure ; — {a) 0.76 x 0.61, (b) 0.74 x 0.59. 

 They are roundish ovals in shape, ground colour of a dull 

 greenish-stone, fading into a light-brown, which gradually darkens 

 towards the larger end, and this is specially noticeable in specimen 

 a. This graduation in the ground colouring is after the manner 

 of that shown in some eggs of Petroeca bicolor. Both eggs are 

 spotted with small dull markings of reddish-brown, intermingled 

 with a few very indistinct spots of pale lilac. Specimen a is much 

 darker at the larger end than specimen b. 



[I saw the birds amongst the mangrove roots and low branches 

 in a few places on the eastern side of Napier Broome Bay, where 

 they were fairly numerous. In a few of the more open patches 

 of mangrove I was able to watch the birds building, but only in 

 one case, where I was able to get away unobserved, did they com- 

 plete and lay in the nests. In most instances I was observed, 

 and the nest was at once abandoned. The first note of their 

 nesting was recorded on 31st January, igio, when, after several 

 days' watching, a nest ready for eggs was found. Subsequent 

 visits ]:)roved, however, that the nest had been deserted. With 

 this knowledge of their habits to work upon, renewed efforts were 

 made, and on 20th February, 1910, after a long wait in the 

 mosquito-infested mangroves, the female bird was seen flying 



