THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 53 



Nesting Habits. 



Observation I. — September-October, 1899, Heytesbury, Vic. 



25th September. — First egg laid in nest. 



26th September. — Second egg laid in nest. 



1 2th October. — Young hatch out, having a little reddish down 

 on body. 



16th October. — Grey quills rise from wings, tail, and along 

 ridge of back 



20th October. — Rufous feathers growing rapidly on wings and 

 back. 



21st October. — Eye? of young open ; feathers forming on breast 

 and neck. 



23rd October. — Young leave nest ; feathers formed on crown. 



Observation II. — October-November, 1899, Heytesbury, Vic. 



15th October. — Building of nest commenced, the female alone 

 doing the work from start to finish. 



28th October. — Nest completed, and first egg deposited in it. 



29th October. — Second egg laid. 



14th November. — Young birds hatch out of shells. 



23rd November. — Eyes open. 



25th November. — Young leave the nest. 



29th November. — Young birds are separated, each parent 

 taking charge of one, and one exclusively feeding it. The wings 

 have assumed a darker colour. 



The male alone feeds its charge (the young male), the female 

 doing the same with the young female bird. The young come to 

 receive food at the calls of the guardians, each obeying the call 

 of its particular one. No cross purposes seem to be entertained 

 as regards food. 



A young bird from a nest in Box Hill, when caged, for twelve 

 days following freely caught flies upon the bars of the cage, 

 largely living upon them in preference to other food supplied. 



A phase of this first plumage I believe to be hitherto un- 

 recorded is the throat of the rusty-brown bird becoming greyish- 

 white (Feb., 1897), while, from what I have seen in the field, 

 another phase when handled would, I believe, show the throat to 

 be rusty-brown, the last place with the exception of the wings to 

 remain rusty-brown in the complete change from phase 1 to phase 

 2. An example of the February phase of bird above was held 

 under observation by Mr. Graham until 25th July, losing sight of 

 it only between the 18th and 25th July. This inclines me to 

 believe that the rusty-brown or first plumage is retained for more 

 than six months, and that it gives way to the grey or second phase 

 in time for the first breeding season, a season of immature and 

 very modest plumage. The want of competition surely is the 

 male bird's champion. 



