MORGAN — Three Species of Malurvs (Blue Wrens). 



situated in the overhanging topmost branches of a very high 

 gum, and strange to say the hair used in the construction of 

 the nest is always white. I have repeatedly watched these 

 birds procuring the material for their nests. They will fly 

 on to a cow and cling to the belly or the sides (always on to 

 a white patch) and pull vigorously at the coat till a bill full 

 of white hair is secured, then they fly away with great speed, 

 making it almost impossible to tell in which direction their 

 nest is situated. Last nesting season a bird came into the 

 stockyard two or three times within an hour and took hair 

 from a black cow which had a white streak right under the 

 belly, and to this white line the bird hung back downwards 

 while it plucked out the white hairs. During the last nest- 

 ing season these birds for the first time to my knowledge had 

 the audacity to procure their nesting material from a partly 

 white cat. They persecuted the cat so severely that it often 

 cried out with rage, and may be pain. 



They seem of a gregarious habit, and very often a party of 

 eight or ten are seen moving from one treetop to another.* 



Field Notes on Three Species of Malurus 

 (Blue Wrens). 



By A. M. Morgan. 



Malurus lamberti assimilis {Blue-breasted Wren) — This- 

 bird inhabits the drier parts of the State. It is fairly com- 

 mon in the Murray scrub, on both sides of the Flinders Range,. 

 and on Yorke's Peninsula. A nearly allied sub-species in- 

 habits the Gawler Ranges. 



Dry water courses and scrubby sandhills are its favourite- 

 homes. They are never to be seen on the open plains. They 

 are rather shy, and consequently not easy to observe. The 

 song is a kind of trill-like "chicity, chicity, chicity, &c," ut- 

 tered very rapidly seven or eight times. Both sexes sing, 

 the notes being alike. 



When the male is courting his mate he erects the feathers 

 of the head, puffs out the breast feathers, half spreads the 



*After writing the above Dr. Morgan re minded me of a strange trait in this\ 

 birds character which I had often noticed but had forgotten, namely, the habit of cling- 

 ang on to the stems of gumtrees and pulling off the bark in search of insects after the 

 manner of Chmatceris (Tree creepers).— S. A. W. v 



