THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 41 



strongly in favour of their having come from the same nest in 

 certain timber. Though for a cuckoo to place its egg in the 

 hollow of a tree, where the Pardalote's eggs would be placed, is 

 like putting it in an uncanny place. How many Pardalotes there 

 were about this spot when all were collected is not known, so that 

 one cannot say how many matured, but it is unlikely that more 

 than one Pardalote succeeded in living through the ordeal of 

 having a young pugilist in its company. Judging by what we 

 know of Cuckoos, the egg would be laid about the time the first 

 egg of the Pardalote was laid. Following this there would be five 

 more eggs of the Pardalote laid. The Cuckoo's egg would early 

 start to develop, and would hatch out days earlier than the first 

 egg, and considerably before the last. History would now repeat 

 itself, and that young Cuckoo would simply starve the others, if it 

 could not throw them out, which would be most unlikely in this 

 case. To see one young Pardalote only with one young Cuckoo 

 and foster-parents is to me the same as seeing the sole surviving 

 member of six young Pardalotes. I know very well that a hungry 

 young Cuckoo would try to wrestle from the foster-parents each 

 insect as it was brought in until it was satisfied, which would not 

 be till a late hour. Mr. Coles observed a nest a few feet above 

 the birds when being fed, which had the small entrance in the 

 bole, the deep cavity, and usual carbonate of lime indications. 

 From these circumstances it is my opinion this young Cuckoo 

 suffocated or starved all its fellow-lodgers, the Pardalotes, except 

 one, and that one escaped as much by good fortune as good 

 management. 



4. Additional Information on the Plumage of Malurus 

 cyaneus, Ellis. 



In the " Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria," vol. xii. 

 (N.S.), 1899, part 1, I described some twenty phases of plumage 

 in the life-history of certain Maluri. Another has recently come 

 under my notice which is of particular value, since it is assuming 

 the aspect of age while it is yet very young. The skin was obtained 

 at Elsternwick in June by Mr. Hedley Coles, and is that of a male 

 bird. The general appearance dorsally is brown, but greyish- 

 white ventrally. The bill is chocolate brown on the distal half 

 of the upper mandible, and along all but a small proximal part 

 of the lower, while it is black over the inner half of the upper 

 mandible. The lores are dull rufous, with a black feather in 

 each. The tail is brown, without any appearance of light blue 

 upon it. The feet are pale chestnut. One black feather 

 appears in the mantle, and several blue ones on the head and 

 cheeks. Length of wing, 1.8 inches; length of tail, 1.55 inches. 

 Except for the " blues," a casual observer would tell you at once 

 it was a young bird a few months old, and most likely a female ; 



