I860'.] MR. RAMSAY ON THE FOSi'KIU'A RENTS OF CUCKOOS. 5/5 



brown (in tint duller than in those of A. lineata), which in some 

 specimens are also distributed over the rest of the surface. Its note 

 is much louder and more varied than that of any other species. 

 Besides being the fosterparent of the Bronze Cuckoo, this species 

 has frequently the pleasure of rearing the young of the Brown Cuckoo 

 (Cuculus cineraceus), three nests out of four lately found of this 

 Acanthiza having contained an egg of the C. cineraceus. 



4. Yeleow-rumped Geobasileus. Geobasileus chrysorrhous, 

 Cab. Mus. Hein. i. p. 32. 



We can hardly claim the present species as a resident Sydney bird, 

 having met with it only upon rare occasions in this neighbourhood. 

 We found it breeding, however, at MacQuarie Fields in 1862 ; but 

 even there it was considered rare, although about twenty miles further 

 inland it is very plentiful. The Yellow-rumped Geobasileus is usually 

 met with in small troops of from five to ten in number, nearly always 

 upon the ground, where it searches for insects of various orders. 



I found this bird one of the most common upon the banks of 

 the Hunter River, also in the Wellington and Lachlan districts. Its 

 nest is a bulky, rough, oblong structure, composed of grasses and 

 strips of bark interwoven in a loose ragged maimer, with a little cob- 

 web and wool ; it is lined with feathers and fine grasses. The en- 

 trance is about halfway down the side, with rounded and thickened 

 edges, but without auy hood. The most peculiar characteristic of 

 the nest is a cup-shaped framework placed upon the top (often a 

 little to the one side), as if formed for the commencement of another 

 nest ; this, I found, is made when the framework of the true nest is 

 formed ; but I believe it is added to after the nest is lined and while 

 the bird is still laying. The whole structure is 8 inches high by 4 

 through, the framework on the top being 2 inches by 3 wide. The 

 breeding-season commences sometimes as early as July and ends in 

 December, during which time three broods are often reared ; the 

 most usual montbs are from August to November. Three or four 

 eggs are the number laid for a sitting : they are of a beautiful pure- 

 white colour, having brownish-red dots, centred with a deeper hue, 

 and sprinkled over the surface or forming an indistinct zone upon 

 the larger end. Eggs of this species are often found without any 

 markings whatever. Length ^*- of an inch, by -f^ in breadth. 



Almost any bushy tree or bough affords a safe place for the nest 

 of this species : the ends of the mangrove boughs overhanging a 

 stream, or even those of the casuarina, the branches of the tea-trees, 

 as well as orange-trees, are resorted to. The birds may frequently be 

 found in the gardens and orchards, and not unfrequently hopping 

 over the roofs of the houses. 



5. Buff-rumped Geobasileus. Geobasileus reguloides, Cab. 

 Mus. Hein. Theil i. 70. 32, note. 



This well-marked species is universally dispersed over the whole 

 of New South Wales, and is quite as plentiful near the coast as 

 further inland. It is usually met with in small companies of five or 



