62 Le Souef, New or Rare Australian Birds' Eggs. \^ 



Emu 

 t Oct. 



larger end. They measure — {a) .92 x .72, {h) .96 x .73 inch. 

 The compact nest, composed of fine rootlets and tendrils, was built 

 in a pandanus palm, near the crown, about 8 feet from the ground, 

 and was found on 2nd December, 1906, near Cairns, Queensland. 



Coi.LYRiociNCLA CERViNiVENTRis* (Fawn-breasted Shrike-Thrush). 



(Mathews, Handl. Bds. of Austr., No. 642.) 



The nest of this Shrike-Thrush was found in the top of a broken 

 sapling, and was composed of twigs and leaves, being lined with 

 rootlets. The two eggs are white, thickly freckled with light 

 brownish-red, the smaller markings being more numerous than the 

 larger ones. They measure — {a) 1.06 x .76, (b) 1.02 x .76 inches. 

 The nest was found near Springsure, in Queensland, on 28th 

 October, 1904. 



Cracticus argenteus (Silver-backed Butcher-Bird). 



(Mathews, Handl. Bds. of Austr., No. 657.) 

 The nest of this Butcher-Bird, containing three eggs, was found 

 on 25th February, 1906, in a small tree a few miles to the east of 

 Pine Creek railway station. Northern Territory. The bird was 

 flushed from the nest, which was situated in a forked branch about 

 20 feet from the ground, and was composed of twigs and 

 lined with fine rootlets. The eggs are pale greyish-green, with 

 spots of burnt sienna, slightly more numerous at the larger end, 

 and they measure — {a) 1.22 x .78, {b) 1.28 x .84, (c) 1.24 x .86 

 inches. 



Cracticus spaldingi (Spalding Butcher-Bird). 



(Mathews, Handl. Bds. of Austr., No. 652.) 



The open nest of this bird was found near Port Darwin on 23rd 

 November, 1905 ; it was rather loosely built of twigs and rootlets, 

 and situated about 20 feet from the ground. The three eggs in 

 the nest were fresh, and are of a greyish-green, with a few markings 

 on the larger end of a dark brown, some markings under the 

 surface being of brownish-purple. They are very similar to some 

 specimens of the eggs of Craciicus riifescens, but smaller. They 

 measure — (a) 1.27 x .98, (b) 1.21 x .95, (c) 1.28 x .95 inches. 



Gymnorhina longirostris (Long-billed Magpie). 



(Mathews, Handl. Bds. of Austr., No. 648.) 



This variety is found in North-Western Australia. A nest 

 containing five eggs was found on 3rd December, 1906, near 

 Derby. The nest was built in a eucalyptus tree, composed of 

 sticks, and constructed after the usual style of the Gymnorhina'. 

 The eggs are light greenish-grey, thickly marked with faint greenish 

 irregular, smudgy lines, and with a few large blotches of dark 

 brown. They measure — (a) 1.55 x 1.02, (b) 1.54 x i.oi, (r) 1.61 x 

 1.05, (d) 1. 51 X 1. 01, (e) 1.53 X 1.06 inches. 



* The author of this species (A. J. North) now regards it as only a "climatic 

 form " of C. rujigaster. — Vide " Nests and Eggs of Birds," &c., p. 100. — Eds. 



