THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 207 



Among those that principally engaged my attention were the 

 cautious Hylacola ( Hylacola muta), Lambert's Malurus ( Mahtrzi^ 

 Lamberti), the Red-capped Robin ( Petroica goodenovii)^ the Red- 

 rumped Acanthiza (Acanthiza pyrrhopygia), and the Chestnuts 

 lumped Acanthiza (A. uropygialis ), I found the nests of all, 

 except Acanthiza uropygialis. 



Of the Hylacola I obtained only one nest containing eggs, 

 and I sent the nest and an egg to the National Museum, and 

 there they are still, no doubt, stowed away somewhere along with 

 hundreds of other valuable things that cannot be displayed for 

 want of space. 



Several nests of the Red-capped Robin were] discovered, and 

 nearly all of them contained either an egg or young of the 

 Narrow-billed Bronze Cuckoo ( Lamprococcyx hasalisj. 



The Red-rumped Acanthiza's nests that I met with were built 

 in low bushes, or in tangled bunches of scrub-creeper, and I 

 naturally expected to find nests of its congener in similar situa- 

 tions. More than once, on discovering a partly-built nest where 

 a pair of Chestnut-rumps were flitting about, I recorded in my 

 notes the finding of the much-coveted prize, but, to my chagrin, 

 subsequent visits invariably proved the nest to belong to some 

 other species ; and, notwithstanding many long hours of patient 

 watching, the nidification of this little bird remained a mystery 

 to me until the summer of 1881. 



In October of that year I was watching a pair, and, from their 

 actions, I felt sure their nest could not be far from where I was 

 standing. Presently I heard a faint " cheeping" behind me, and 

 on turning round was delighted to see one of the birds feeding 

 its young in the nest. Now I could see how I had hitherto 

 been baffled, for the nest, instead of being placed among foliage, 

 as one would expect an Acanthiza's nest to be, was actually 

 built in the deft of a hollow tree. 



In this case the nest was about 7ft. from the ground, in a 

 dead, hollow sapling, Avhich was cleft on one side from top to 

 bottom. 



The cleft gave access to the interior, where the nest — a neat,, 

 little domed structure, formed of strips of bark and grass, and 

 lined with feathers and fur — was built. 



A few days after I saw another pair on the edge of the scrub, 

 a.nd, now that I had the clue, I had not much difiiculty in dis- 

 covering their nest. After watching them for a time, I saw one 

 of the birds clinging to a piece of bark that was hanging from a 

 half-burnt sapling, about six feet from the ground, and there,, 

 sure enough, was the nest, containing three eggs. The bark 

 formed a " pipe," with an opening on one side. 



This nest and one of the eggs I send herewith. 



Since then I have found three other nests. One was built in 



