156. THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



gated. One contained three fresh eggs, as well as some newly- 

 hatched young. The Campophaga is plentiful throughout all the 

 timber. It keeps in pairs, and the pleasant, continuous song of 

 the male bird is heard among redgum and bull-oak trees alike. 

 Apparently nesting operations had not been commenced. Another 

 gifted musician in these dry regions is the Oreoica, aptly termed 

 the Bell-bird from the nature of its beautiful ringing notes, which 

 are given forth with several variations. It is found in the guni 

 and box sapUngs, as well as in the desolate Mallee, and its nest is 

 very hard to locate, for the bird is shy. A solitary specimen of 

 the Red backed Kingfisher, Halcyon jjyrrhopygius, was shot, 

 we being attracted to it by hearing its peculiar note ; and, while 

 hammering the hollow trees for parrots' nests, a lonely Owlet 

 Nightjar was disturbed from his noonday sleep. 



Coming to a brush fence, we heard the merry song of the Red- 

 throat, Sericornis brunnea, a little dull- coloured bird, the male of 

 which has a conspicuous rusty-red patch on the throat. A pair 

 of birds was shot for our collection, but no traces of a nest could 

 be seen. Afterwards, on dissecting the birds, the female was 

 found to contain two fertilized yolks. The Red-throat possesses 

 many habits of a Sericornis, and delights to frequent thick masses 

 of bush and undergrowth. The male and the female also have a 

 very pleasant song, which is remarkably loud and sweet for so 

 small a bird. In the same brush fence were two families of 

 Black-backed Wrens. After careful hunting, one nest was dis- 

 covered hidden away in the dead leafy top of a sapling thrown 

 among the debris. The nest was made of bark and sheepswool, 

 with several pieces of grass in the inside, It measured five inches 

 high by three inches in diameter, and contained four pretty 

 reddish-spotted eggs. 



At Pine Plains the Cuckoo family is represented by the 

 Fantailed, Cacomantis Jlabelliformis, which lives exclusively among 

 the bull-oaks and pines. A somewhat scarce species, the Black- 

 eared, Mesocalius palliolatus, is occasionally seen in the district. 

 It is a very shy and silent bird. 



The Bronzewing Pigeon, Phaps chalcoptera, is tolerably plenti- 

 ful in patches of timber near the waterholes. At the close 

 of a warm day the birds may be seen coming singly or in pairs 

 for their evening drink. Another member of the Columbae is the 

 Ground Dove, Geopelia tranquilla. It is not as plentiful at Pine 

 Plains as at Valium, but nevertheless at sunrise and at sunset its 

 loud and melancholy song is heard in the pine ridges. 



Directly opposite the homestead is a small patch of trees of a 

 few acres in extent, consisting principally of redgums. A few 

 clumps of this nature were scattered here and there along the 

 edge of the plain. They appeared to grow in hollows which were 

 at one time swampy ground. On the morning of our departure I 



