64 ASHBY — Tasmanian Field Notes. 



fled in making it a distinct species, though Mathews now 

 places it w r ith the grey Crow Shrike. 



The bird in question joined another, and I had almost 

 stalked it within gun shot, in fact was raising the gun for a 

 shot, when a third bird not before observed, gave the warning, 

 and the three flew on to the top of a rocky knoll. Owing to 

 the condition of my ankle I was unable to follow, and as no 

 more put in an appearance later in the day, I am still without 

 this species in my collection. The other species also peculiar 

 to Tasmania, Strepera fuliginosa, was most numerous, its loud 

 and weird cries reminding one more of the call of the Black 

 Cockatoo than that of a Crow Shrike. 



The common Tasmanian Tit, Acanthiza jmsilla diemanensis, 

 Cld. (Brown-rumped Tit), was numerous, but although a sharp 

 look out was kept there was no sign of A. eiuingii, Gld. 



The country here near the lake is open forest country, 

 with clumps of dense small bushes, and in places a heath-like 

 shrub belonging to the "Epacrideae", probably a Brachyloma, 

 was densely covering the ground under the larger timber, this 

 shrub being 2 feet to 3 feet in height, and covered at the time 

 of our visit with bright red berries, upon which numbers of 

 the Green Parrot, Platycercus caledonicus, Gmelin, were feeding 

 Sericornis humilis, Gld. (the Brown Scrub Wren), were nume- 

 rous, mostly either on the ground or in low dense bushes. 

 From the restlessness of a pair, I concluded that they must 

 have a nest, and after searching carefully through all the pos 7 

 sible bushes in the immediate neighbourhood, bethought me 

 that it was possible that they might choose a similar nesting 

 place to that of Hylacola cauta, Gld., which almost invariably 

 selects a fallen branch with dead leaves still attached, as aj 

 nesting place. I quickly found a sapling that had been cut 

 down, and on lifting up the fallen branches, there was the 

 nest close to the ground buried in the fallen branch, and in 

 construction a typical Sericornis nest containing three fresh 

 laid eggs. This nest is now in the S.A. Museum. 



After leaving Lake Sorell it had been our intention to 

 spend a day at Ross, or one of the central townships for the 

 purpose of endeavouring to obtain Tasmania's species of Grass 

 Parrots, Neonanodcs chrysogaster, Latham, (Orange-bellied 

 Parrot), and Nconanodes clirysostomus, Kuhl, (Blue-winged Par- 

 rot. The neighbourhood had until recent years been a well 

 known breeding place for both these species. Whereas until 



