^"'igl"^'] Campbell, The Flame-breasted Robin. 120 



statement, since it illustrates habits which would reasonably hold 

 good with the same species quartered in another and separate 

 region. In Tasmania the Flame-breasted Robins congregate 

 during the winter months, and are as partial to cultivated fields 

 and the haunts of man as they are on the mainland. They 

 come about the streets and yards, sitting upon the wires and 

 fences, and are very tame.* But in September they disappear 

 in pairs to nest in secluded parts of the mountain slopes and 

 highlands. They ascend to the highest altitudes, having been 

 recorded on the plateaux surrounding Ben Lomond (see The 

 Emu, vol. vii., p. 146) from springtime until March. 



Conclusion c contains the solution of the whole question. If 

 Flame-breasted Robins, so plentiful in many parts of Victoria, 

 for instance, in winter, all retire to adjacent highlands to nest, 

 then there is no longer any need to entertain the idea of 

 migration. The mysterious disappearance of countless numbers 

 of Robins is explained, and their whereabouts in summer made 

 known. If all the Robins, or even the majority from the main- 

 land, congregated upon Tasmania to nest, then that small area 

 must surely be over-stocked with Robins. But that is not so. 

 The species is no more plentiful in the island State in summer 

 than in winter. The appearance of the bird in travel-stained 

 flocks would be a matter of common observation on both sides 

 of Bass Strait. On the contrary, the Robins, when they first 

 appear about Melbourne in autumn, are (that is, female and 

 young male birds) of a rich, warm brown colour, as if they had 

 for some time previously been accustomed to deep forest 

 recesses. This warm colour in about a fortnight's time fades to 

 a greyish-brown, more in keeping with the sombre winter 

 landscape of the open country they frequent. Some even have 

 a touch of red-brown on the under surface, but this, too, quickly 

 fades on contact with light. Even richly coloured birds, shot 

 for museum purposes, will, though dead, become lighter. The 

 pigment of the autumn plumage in which they left the half- 

 lighted forests fades on contact with stronger light. The regions 

 from which the Robins arrive are the Plenty, the Upper Yarra, 

 Baw Baw, and the Dandenong Ranges, which lie to the north 

 and north-east of Port Phillip ; from the Otway and South 

 Gippsland ; from the Buffalo (including the Alps) and North 

 and East Gippsland Ranges ; also in New South Wales, the 

 highlands from the Victorian border to the Blue Mountains and 

 New England, or even south Queensland, following the 

 geographical line of the Great Divide. Further, as Robins are 

 to be found in numbers wintering in the vicinity of Adelaide, 

 South Australia, I would here suggest, by analogy, that in the 

 forest retreats of adjacent highlands like Mt. Lofty the species 

 will be found in summer nesting. 



* The Emu, vol. v., p. 87. 



