118 Mr. G. M. Mathews ow Me 



by December the 10th they had become fewer, and by the 

 16th only a few stragglers were left. During the day only 

 stragglers are seen, but towards sunset the birds begin to 

 arrive from the mainland^ when the air is thick with them. 

 They then gradually gather together into a great whirling 

 cloud, resembling a column wdiich reaches to within fifty 

 yards of the ground, the top being fully three hundred yards 

 higher. They keep up their circular flight till dusk, and 

 then drop into the mangroves, where the chorus becomes 

 an incredibly shrill sound, not unlike that of high-pressure 

 steam escaping. There are many thousands of birds in 

 these columns. This is repeated every evening. 



108. Kempia flavigaster melvillensis. Melville - Island 

 Lemon-breasted Flycatcher. 



Microeca flavigaster melvillensis Mathews, Austral A v. 

 Rec. vol. i. 1912, p. 39 : Melville Island. 



This species is sparingly distributed, but seems more 

 numerous in the mangroves than elsewhere. 



On the 14th of January, 1912, a nest was found; both 

 birds were seen at it, but there were no eggs. It was built 

 in a fork of a thin branch of a Paper-bark tree, which was 

 leaning out of the water. In size and type this nest 

 resembled that of Microeca jjallida. 



109. Melanodryas cucuUata subpicata. Northern Pied 

 Pobin. 



Petroica cucullata subpicata Mathews, Nov. Zool. vol. xviii. 

 1912, p. 306 : Alexandra, Northern Territory. 

 Common. 



110. Smicrornis brevirostris melvillensis. Melville-Island 

 Tree-Tit. 



Smicrornis brevirostris melvillensis Mathews, Austral Av. 

 Rec. vol. i. 1912, p. 39 : Melville Island. 



These birds are seen occasionally in tall timber and in 

 parties of up to a dozen ; when feeding they move slowly 

 from tree to tree, calling incessantly. They are not nearly 



