3o8 Whitlock, In the Stirling Ranges, W.A. [,sf April 



loral stripe of quite a pale ferruginous tint. But in the cases of 

 M. pulcherrimus and M. elegans a surer guide exists in the colour 

 of the upper parts. M. pulcherrimus has these more like M. 

 splendens, being rather ashy in tint, whereas in M. elegans the 

 whole of the wing is of a dull snuff colour. I also find that 

 the throat and breast of M. elegans are much paler than in the 

 case of M. pulcherrimus, the same tendency towards " ashiness " 

 being observable in the latter. 



I had one curious experience in searching for this Wren. It 

 was rather late in the afternoon when I first arrived at my 

 camping ground at Mount Donelly, and I had no time to put 

 up a tent. Next morning I was having breakfast under the lee 

 of a clump of mallee, when four Maluri approached quite closely. 

 Though the male was not in full nuptial dress, I was able to 

 identify him as of the present species. It was about a month 

 after this encounter before I saw another party. 



On 23rd September I was at the foot of a low hill, such as I have 

 before described, when I encountered a party of four. There were 

 two males and two birds in brown plumage, presumably females. 

 One male was obviously a more mature bird than the other. 

 The latter showed considerable brown on the head, and the deep 

 blue of the breast was streaked with greyish-brown. The older 

 bird, on the other hand, had the crown wholly blue and the 

 breast of a deep velvety indigo-blue. I followed them quietly 

 up the hill. Presently one of the brown birds appeared with a 

 piece of grass in her bill. I watched the direction she took, and 

 cautiously moved towards it. She soon appeared with her bill 

 empty. I waited again, and after a brief time she passed me 

 as before, with another piece of grass, and I was able to locate 

 the clump of mallee to which she was making. Waiting until she 

 reappeared, I walked to the spot, and at a distance of a few feet 

 could discern a half-finished nest, placed very low down, and 

 just on the outside of a clump of scrub. Carefully marking the 

 place, I at once retired. Hardly had I reached the foot of the 

 hill before I encountered another party. This comprised two 

 old males, two younger males in half-nuptial plumage, and only 

 two brown females (?). The whole party appeared to be labouring 

 under great excitement, the males chasing one another to and 

 fro to the accompaniment of much shrill chirruping. Even the 

 females were equally active. But I saw no actual conflict take 

 place. I watched this party for a quarter of an hour, and that 

 was the last I saw of it. Despite frequent visits to the same spot, 

 and close searches of the neighbouring hill, I could not afterwards 

 find a single bird. 



I took the nest before mentioned on 3rd October, with a full 

 clutch of three fresh eggs. The female sat closely, and the fully 

 adult male was in attendance too, but I saw nothing of the 

 younger male or of the second female. On 8th October I found 

 a second nest. This, too, was very low down, and not very care- 

 fully hidden. The situation was in low, dead scrub, on a sand- 



