Vol. X. 

 igii 



] Whitlock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A . 307 



adjacent jarrah hills, despite the fact that the latter are clothed 

 with plenty of low-growing scrub. 



There are three species for the discovery of which Mr. Milligan 

 may claim special credit — viz., Calamanthns montanellus, Meli- 

 threptiis leucogenys (both new to science), and what may be termed 

 the re-discovery of the Mai urns pulchenimus of Gould — the Wren 

 with the " intense indigo breast." I met with all three, and 

 propose to add a few notes to what Mr. Milligan has already 

 written. I was fortunate enough to obtain nests of two out of 

 the three. 



Regarding the Blue-breasted Wren {Malimts pitlcherrimus), one 

 wants a calm, sunny day to find it, for it is by no means vociferous, 

 and I regard it as one of the most secretive of the whole family. 

 The favourite haunt appeared to be some low, rounded hill 

 littered with ironstone, and clothed with a not too dense and 

 rather low growth of marlock, or mallee, and other smaller shrubs. 

 Naturally, at the foot of the slopes of such a hill one finds a 

 shallow creek. I found it a good plan to follow up the creek, 

 keeping a sharp look-out and having both ears open for the feeble 

 but high-pitched alarm note. With the aid of a little artifice in 

 the imitation of the call-note, or, failing that, with a representa- 

 tion of the cry of a wounded bird, the female may generally be 

 induced to show herself, and, after a time, in most cases, the male ; 

 but the latter, perhaps being devoid of what is termed " feminine " 

 curiosity, soon retires again. I was very anxious to obtain an 

 authentic nest and eggs. Though the latter were described as 

 long as over 70 years ago, no other nests have been recorded 

 since ; and, despite the respect all Gilbert's observations are 

 entitled to, I have always thought that the position of the nest 

 he describes, which he found in the Wongan Hills, was somewhat 

 exceptional. 



In the light of Mr. Milligan's re-discovery of the present species, 

 Mr. A. J. Campbell has retracted, in part, his account of the nest 

 and eggs in his well-known work, the specimens from Pine Creek, 

 Northern Territory, to which he alludes being referable to some 

 other species — very probably, I think, to Maliinis dulcis (Mathews). 

 M. pukhcrrimiis is, I believe, strictly confined to the south-west 

 of this State ; but I hardly think it touches the coastal districts 

 anywhere, its place being taken by M. elegans, also a dark blue 

 breasted bird, but easily distinguished by the very pale blue (or 

 bluish-white) of the back. I may also state that in the brown 

 plumage both sexes of these species are readily separable In the 

 adult male the beak, once it becomes black, remains black ; but 

 in females and young males the beak of M. elegans is of a light 

 cinnamon-brown, in contrast with dark hazel-brown in the case 

 of M. piilcherriinus. Also, the loral stripe differs in the same 

 degree, being deep chocolate in M. pnlcherrimus and warm lirown 

 in M. elegans. I may add that these features in another species 

 found also in localities frequented by both the former — viz., 

 M. splenderi'i — are still lighter, the beak being cinnamon and the 



