IQO 



Whitlock, Birds on the Pilbarra Goldfield. [ist^Aprii 



affinity with the Pipits {Anthus). It has the habit of ascending to a con- 

 siderable height, and there remaining suspended in mid-air, from whence 

 it pours forth its pleasing song. The latter resembles that of the Skylark, 

 but is neither so melodious nor so loud, but is equally well sustained. 

 Certain notes resemble those of 6V//(r^r//^?///M/('.y cruralis^o^-\&x?> those of a 

 Plover or Sandpiper, and others again those of Einberiza niiliarin (the 

 European Bunting). It is quite possible the Sandpiper-like notes may have 

 been imitative in this particular locality, for I learned that Plovers and Sand- 

 pipers were often abundant at this clay-pan in the rainy months of the year. 

 Like the Skylark, too, Mirafra will sing at night or long before daybreak, 

 and on bright moonlight nights, I fancied more than once, when guided 

 by the sound, I could detect the little songster soaring overhead. In 

 the field Mirafra may readily be distinguished from Ant/ius, both by its 

 appearance and by its general behaviour. In colour it is of a richer 

 brown, and its shorter tail gives it a less slender appearance than that of a 

 Pipit. Its flight, too, is less undulatory, though it often put me in mind of 

 the. ]erky ?i\g\\i oi A/ithus prah'/isis {XhQ European Meadow Pipit). More- 

 over, Mirafta usually alights behind cover, from which it frequently runs out 

 to take a peep at an intruder. Again, it has not the habit, like Anihus 

 austrnlis^ of wagging its tail up and down. It runs nimbly, but not so 

 quickly as the latter species. 



The foregoing remarks refer for the most part to the male, for, according 

 to my observations, the female must be a skulker. I had the greatest 

 difficulty in obtaining a pair of females for specimens, but, on the other 

 hand, the males were easy to shoot. This may be true only during the 

 breeding season. 



At this clay-pan, despite the abundance of the birds, the nests were 

 exceedingly difficult to find. But when one considers the vast area of 

 suitable breeding-ground it is hardly to be wondered at. Except by flushing 

 the female from the nest, or detecting her during building operations, it is 

 quite impossible to find them. They are seldom to be detected at the 

 ordinary glance. Also, I am of opinion that the male, when the female is 

 actually on the nest, keeps watch from some point of vantage, from which 

 he utters a rather shrill and stridulous alarm note when an intruder draws 

 too near. The female then quickly slips off the eggs and runs some distance 

 away before rising, or perhaps remains skulking in the long grass. It is a 

 significant fact that each of the three nests I found was discovered during 

 the prevalence of strong winds, when all birds were seeking shelter. 

 Irritated at my want of success, I tried all hours of the day in my searches 

 for the nests — from daybreak to dusk — and on one occasion armed with a 

 long wand with which to beat the tussocks as I walked along. 



My first nest was found where the tufts of grass were high, but not growing 

 so close together as in other places. In the earlier part of the rainy season 

 this had all been under water. A female flew— not fluttered — from the lea 

 of a tuft of grass at my feet. Nothing was visible until I stooped down and 

 pressed back the tuft. There, in a little excavation sheltered by the over- 

 hanging stems, was a perfect and neat little nest containing two eggs and 

 one newly-hatched bird. I was at once reminded of the European Anthus 

 prateiisis, though it had its own peculiarities. It was small and very neatly 

 made, and may be fairly described as semi-domed, for the contents were not 

 visible when the nest was viewed from above. It resembled the nest found 

 at Marble Bar, but was, no doubt, a more perfect specimen. It had one 

 peculiarity. The back was formed as before by the stems of grass growing 

 til sjti/^ and the front of neatly woven grasses as before ; but on either side 

 were pads of sheep's wool neatly and closely woven together and incorporated 

 with the front of the nest. It was quite impossible to bring away the nest 

 in a perfect state without cutting out with a spade the whole tuft of herbage 

 and earth it was growing in. I much regretted I had no camera to photo- 

 graph the nest with its natural surroundings. I found two other nests quite 



