142 THE VICTORIAN NATURALIST. 



were replaced by freshly plucked ones. The only calls the 

 Regent-birds have are a single whistle, and a squeaky " whit 

 whit " when alarmed. 



The Green Cat-bird, Aelurozdus viridis, is another member of 

 the Bower-bird family, and is common in the scrub. It takes its 

 name from its loud cat-like " mew-ow " call ; towards dusk some- 

 times several congregate and make a considerable noise. The 

 eggs are of uniform creamy-yellow colour, and the nest is a more 

 substantial structure than the other Bower-birds build. The Cat- 

 bird is very partial to the fruit of the Canthium tree ; in company 

 with the Regent, the Fig-bird, the Oriole, and sometimes the 

 Satin Bower-bird, P. violaceus, it may be seen devouring the 

 small yellow berries, which grow in clusters among the leaves. 



Three members of the Campophaga family were noticed. The 

 pretty Barred-breasted, Graucalus lineatus, and the Campophaga 

 jardini are very shy, and rarely leave the tree-tops, but the Black 

 and White, Lalage leucomelozna, is a frequenter of the more open 

 country. The Rufous-breasted Shrike-Thrush, Pinarolestes rufi- 

 gaster, is essentially a bird of the scrub, and the Black-faced Fly- 

 catcher, Monarcha carinata, also. The Large-headed Robin, 

 Poecilodryas capito, and the Large-billed, Eopsaltria magnirostris, 

 are seen ; the latter takes the place of E. australis in our southern 

 districts, but differs from it in having a heavier bill and a brilliant 

 yellow rump, which shows plainly when the bird flies. 



The small fry are for the most part the Large-billed and the 

 Yellow-throated Scrub-Wrens, Sericomis magnirostris and S. 

 citreogularis respectively, together with the Brown Fly-eater, 

 Gerygone fusca. The nests of the larger Sericornis and of the 

 Gerygone are common sights, built of beautiful green moss, and 

 hanging suspended from a Lawyer Cane. But the Scrub-Wren's 

 nest is a very bulky pear-shaped structure, quite 30 inches in 

 length, whereas the Gerygone's home is very neat, and not more 

 than 7 inches long, including its tail-like appendage. The Yellow- 

 throated Scrub-Wren lays two large buff-coloured eggs, but is often 

 ousted from its home by the smaller Large-billed species, which 

 never builds a nest if it can " jump " a ready-made one. A nest 

 was recorded containing the extraordinary number of eight eggs, 

 comprising two sets of three each of the Large-billed and one 

 clutch of the Yellow-throated. The conclusion drawn is that a 

 S. magnirostris had turned out the rightful owner, but was itself 

 ejected by another of its own species. I hardly think the last 

 bird had the best of the bargain with eight eggs to hatch. These 

 large nests are often the foster-home for the egg of the Fan-tailed 

 Cuckoo, Gacomantis flabelliformis. 



The Whip-bird, Psophodes crepitans, the Yellow-eared Honey- 

 eater, Ptilolis lewini, and the Rufous Fan-tail, Ixhipidura rufifrons, 

 are three birds very plentiful indeed, and they are three species 



