Vol. VIII 

 1909 



1 Howe, Among the Birds of N or fh-W ester n Victoria. 133 



backed Magpie (Gyvinorhina tibicen), Butcher- Bird {Cracticus 

 destructor). Yellow-plumed Honey-eater {Ptilotts ornatd). 

 Spiny-cheeked Honey-eater {AcantJwcJuBra rufigularis), Red- 

 throated Thickhead {Pachycephala gilberti), Chestnut-rumped 

 Ground-Wren {Hylacola cautd), Drymacedus, Black-winged 

 Crow-Shrike {Strepera vielanopterd), Bell-Bird {Oreoica cristatd), 

 and Yellow-rumped Pardalote {Pardalotus xantJwpygius), the 

 latter just burrowing. Many others were observed, and in the 

 Acacias on the plains the Black-backed Wren {Malurus 

 melanotus), Purple-backed Wren {M. assimilis), and Redthroat 

 {Serkomis brunned) were very plentiful. The last-named has a 

 very pleasant song, reminding one of that of the CJitJionicola, but 

 of greater volume. 



On the 20th we left Hawk Plain to travel slowly to Kow 

 Plains, about 20 miles due east and 32 miles from the border. 

 After travelling about a mile and a half a nest of the Scrub- 

 Robin {D?ymaivdus brimneopygius) was found, with the female 

 sitting on a young one about four days old that had evidently 

 been born blind and featherless. The eyes were not yet opened 

 to their fullest extent, and were black ; the gape was of a 

 creamy-white colour, while the inside of the mouth was yellow ; 

 primaries were in long blue quills ; the feathers of the head 

 were just breaking, as were also those on the rump, which 

 were very rufous ; the feathers along the abdomen were white 

 and well developed ; feet and bill light horn. This bird 

 was very plentiful all through this country, but owing to 

 the density of the scrub and their very shy disposition they 

 were more often heard than seen. It is essentially a ground 

 bird, seldom perching in the scrub, and then only at a height of 

 a {t\^ feet. They have a habit of elevating the tail (after the 

 fashion of the Cuckoo) with a slow and graceful motion, generally 

 when uttering the call, which consists of a soft whistle-like note, 

 sweet but monotonous ; when alarmed they emit a high-pitched 

 double note, and a note they used when we were about the nest 

 sounded like " Chair-r-r-r-r." To find the nest is very difficult. 

 The female is slightly smaller than the male, and this appears 

 to be the only difference. 



After travelling a few hours we camped for lunch on a small 

 plain. These plains are covered with wattle {Acacia) and 

 turpentine-bush, and here we again met Serkomis brunnea and 

 Malurus melanotus, and we were fortunate in securing a male of 

 the latter variety just assuming the summer plumage. 



A nest of the Bell-Bird {Oreoica cristata) was found, containing 

 three eggs and three brown-coloured, long-haired grubs. Two 

 other nests of this species were found — one at Kow Plains, con- 

 taining two eggs, and the other at Stawell with three eggs, and 

 in each case a corresponding number of grubs with them. 



The country we traversed was mostly mallee, and the route 



