Vol. X. 

 igii 



] Jackson, TJie Hauii/ of /he Rufous Scrub-Bird. 32Q 



notes of the following birds : — Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren 

 {Sericornis harbara), Spine-tailed Log-runner {Orthonyx temfmncki). 

 King Lory {Aprosinictiis cyanopygius), Yellow-rumped Robin 

 {Eopsaltria chrysorrhoa). White Goshawk [Astur novcc-hollandice). 

 White-throated Tree-creeper [Climacteris scandens). White-throated 

 Thickhead {Pachycephala pedoralis). White-fronted Scrub-Wren 

 (Sericornis frontalis), Lewin's Honey-eater [Ptilotis cJtrusotis), &c. ; 

 and when imitating the note of the Yellow-throated Scrub-Wren 

 these fussy little birds came over to the heap of debris and sat on 

 a twig over the Atrichornis as it called out beneath them. The 

 loud alarm note of the Spine-tailed Log-runner it very frequently 

 utters to perfection, and it is most difficult to discriminate which 

 bird is calling — an Atn'cJiornis or a Log-runner. On account of 

 the breast bone and muscles of the voice apparatus being unusual, 

 the AtricJiornitltidcB have been classed " Abnormal Song-Birds." The 

 discovery of the male Atrichornis to-day gave me encouragement, 

 and I naturally expected the bird had its mate somewhere in the 

 vicinity. I first heard the bird to-day at 3 p.m., and I remained 

 at the spot observing until after 4 p.m. I named this part of the 

 scrub " Atrichia Slope," and it lies a few miles from my camp. 

 Before leaving this locality to-day I examined a great many tufts 

 of scrub-grass or sedge {Gahnia and Carex longifolia) close about 

 the large heap of debris which the bird frequented, but I saw no 

 sign of the nest or female. I then travelled through more scrub, 

 and returned to camp before dark. I have never at any time 

 seen an Atrichornis in a tree or bush ; they live entirely on the 

 ground, partly hidden amongst the masses of fallen timbers and 

 debris, and never for a moment do they leave these places, and 

 therefore appear quite terrestrial in their habits. Their strong 

 legs and very small wings prove that they spend most, if not all, 

 of their time on the ground. 



After this date (7th October) I worked on and hunted day 

 after day, and thoroughly searched all the dense scrub, tufts of 

 scrub-grass or sedge, heaps of debris, &c., at " Atrichia Slope," 

 and immediately surrounding the place where I had first seen 

 the male bird ; but my efforts were fruitless. 



On the morning of the 16th October I sat on a log and listened 

 for three-quarters of an hour at one of the large piles of debris, 

 but there was no indication of or sound uttered by the AtricJiornis, 

 much less getting a glimpse of the bird. This silence was rather 

 disappointing, so at about 9 a.m. I made a fresh start, and once 

 again continued a systematic search. Shortly after 10 a.m. the 

 area of my operations brought me to a small open space in the 

 scrub, which was well covered with many tufts of a narrow, flat 

 grass {Carex), which varied from i foot to 2 feet 6 inches in 

 height, growing rather closely together. Through the western 

 side of this growth the large section of the topmost portion of 

 a fallen hoop pine {Araucaria ciinninghanii) was lying on the 

 ground. This top jiart of the tree measured 65 feet long, and 

 was about 3 feet thick at the larger end. This looked to me 



