Cuckoos and Parrots of New South Wales.



259



activities of the Society and the great schemes to which we have set

our hand. So shall the Avicultural Magazine speedily moult its

eclipse plumage and soar aloft on the strong pinions which are

already sprouting. G. R-



AUSTRALIAN BLUE WRENS.


By C. H. A. Lienau.


I was greatly interested in the article in the May number in

reference to the little Blue Wren.* They are lovely little birds, and

whistle so prettily. We have quite a number here, and several pairs

nest regularly in our garden every season. They are such cheeky

little birds, and hop about on the aviaries, and after whistling awhile

fly off with a shrill chirp, as much as to say “ How would you like

to be able to follow me ? ”


When I say pairs nest, I feel sure that there are at least

double the number of hens that there are cocks. In one case there

were three nests in the one hedge, and I have watched the one little

cock-bird go from one nest to the other and give each little sitting

hen a tit-bit in turn. The young all hatched at about the same

time, and it was amusing, when the young ones left the nest, to see

the little father hopping across the lawn pursued by no less than

eleven hungry youngsters, all clamouring for a morsel.


Much more uncommon and much more beautiful a bird is, in

my opinion, the Malurus cyanotus, or White-winged Superb Warbler.

They are equally perky, and with the exception of the shoulders, are

a brilliant sapphire blue.



CUCKOOS AND PARROTS OF NEW SOUTH


WALES.t


By THE LATE A. J. NORTH, C.M.Z.S.


The representatives of the Sub-order Coccyges includes in it

the Pallid Cuckoo ( Cuculus inornatus), the Fan-tailed Cuckoo ( Caco-

mantis flabelliformis), the Square-tailed or Brush Cuckoo ( C. vario-



* “ The Display of the Blue Wren (Malurus cyaneus),” by H. D. Astley. ‘ Avicul-

tural Magazine,’ May, 1917.


f Reprinted from the ‘ New South Wales Handbook,’ British Association Visit.



