° j^os J Le Souef, New or Rare Australian Birds' Eggs. 63 



Malurus coronatus (Purple-crowned Wren). 



(Mathews, Handl. Bds. of Austr. , No. 606.) 

 The dome-shaped nest of this beautiful little bird was found near 

 Port Darwin * on 25th January, 1905 ; it was situated in some 

 thick vegetation, about 2 feet from the ground. It contained 

 three eggs, which are white, with small reddish-brown markings, 

 those on the thicker end being larger and more numerous. The 

 eggs measure — (a) .59 x .42, (b) .58 x .43, (c) .56 x .41 inch. 



CiNCLOSOMA CASTANOTHORAx (Chestnut-breasted Ground-Bird). 

 (Mathews, Handl. Bds. of Austr., No. 518.) 

 A nest of this bird was found by Mr. Herman Lau on 3rd 

 November, 1879, in the Darling Downs district in Queensland. 

 He flushed the bird from its nest, which was on the ground, but 

 did not secure it. He states that the open nest was loosely built 

 of leaves, twigs, and coarse grass, and situated alongside a fallen 

 log by a tussock of grass, and the bird sat very close. The eggs 

 are slightly glossy, and white, freckled with purplish-black and 

 brownish markings, especially on the larger end ; the under purple 

 markings are larger than the surface ones, and are also more 

 numerous at the larger end. The eggs measure — (a) 1.18 x .92, 

 (b) 1. 14 X .90 inches. 



[These specimens were overlooked until recently, when I was rearranging my 

 cabinets. — D. Le S.] 



Halcyon westralasianus (Western Sacred Kingfisher). 



(Mathews, Handl. Bds. of Austr., No. 392.) 

 This bird is easily recognized from H. sanctus. It also has a 

 slightly different note. A clutch of three eggs was found in a hole 

 in a decayed bole of a eucalyptus tree on 5th December, 1898 ; 

 they are pure white, slightly glossy, and measure — {a) .96 x .85, 

 {b) '.98 X .86, (c) .98 X .85 inch. 



Halcyon sordidus (Mangrove Kingfisher). 



(Mathews, Handl. Bds. of Austr., No. 394.) 

 These birds are fairly plentiful in Northern Australia. A clutch 

 of five eggs was found in a hole drilled into a termites' mound, 

 situated in the fork of a tree about 30 feet from the ground, 12th 

 December, 1906. The eggs are pure white, glossy, and measure — 

 {a) 1.04 X .^y, (b) 1.02 X .85, (c) .98 x .84, (d) 1.04 x .87, (e) i.o4 

 X .88 inches. 



Platycercus nigrescens (Campbell Parrakeet). 

 (Mathews, Handl. Bds. of Austr., No. 335.) 

 A clutch of three eggs of this species of Parrakeet was found 

 near Cairns on the 24th of November, 1907, in a hollow in a large 

 tree in a patch of open forest country. The eggs were fresh, and 

 therefore not nest-stained, and the clutch was probably incomplete. 

 They are pure white, slightly glossy, and measure — (a) i.ii x .91, 

 {b) 1. 10 X .89, (c) 1. 10 X .86 inches. 



* Northern Territory has not been pieviously recorded for this species^ — Eds, 



