16 The Insectivorous Birds of N.S. W. 



fine grasses, and the white down of the Cotton Plant. The eggs are two or 

 three in number for a sitting, and resemble those of the preceding species, 

 but are smaller ; length, 0"G3 x 045 inch. 



54. Smiceoenis bbeyibosteis, Gould. " Short-billed Smicrornis," " Scrub 



Tit." 

 Smicrornis brevirostsis, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Yol. n., pi. 103 ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Birds, p. 100. (1889). 

 A resident species more freely distributed over the inland portions of the 

 Colony than near the coast. It is a very useful bird, although the most 

 diminutive member of our New South Wales ayi-fauna, and may be 

 constantly seen prying into the leafy recesses of Acacias and the tall 

 Eucalypti, in search of insects which constitute its food. The nest of this 

 species is usually built in the leafy twigs near the top of a gum sapling or 

 in a Melaleuca; it is of a domed or swollen pear-shaped form, with a narrow 

 entrance near the top, and is outwardly constructed of mosses, grasses, and 

 spiders' cocoons matted up together, and scantily lined inside with feathers. 

 The eggs are two or three in number for a sitting, of a dull buffy-white, 

 minutely freckled, and passing into a buffy-brown on the larger end of the 

 egg ; length, 62 x 043 inch. 



55. Eeytueodeyas eosea, Gould. " Eose-breasted Bobin." 



Erijthrodryas rosea, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Yol. Ill, pi. 2. (1818) ; 

 North, Yict., Nat. vol. sax, Feb. (1896.) 

 During the winter months this species may be seen in pairs in open forest 

 lands, contiguous to the rich brushes and coastal scrubs ; retiring again to the 

 latter localities for the purposes of breeding early in the spring, and remaining 

 there throughout the hot summer months. The nest of this species has 

 been found in the secluded valleys of the Illawarra district, and is one of 

 the most beautiful belonging to any of our Australian birds. It is placed 

 on the top of a horizontal branch of a low tree, and is a small deep cup- 

 shaped structure composed of very fine mosses, the exterior and rim being 

 ornamented and thickly covered with mouse-eared lichen, and the inside 

 lined with the downy covering of the newly-budded fronds of the tree- 

 fern. All the Bobins are indefatigable destroyers of insects. 



56. Petececa leggit, Sharpe. " Scarlet-breasted Bobin." 

 Peiroica multicolor, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Yol. in, pi. 3. (1818). 

 Petrceca leggii, North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Birds, p. 102. (18S9). 



A well-known and familiar species frequenting open forest lands during 

 winter, but returning in the spring to breed in the mountain range?. 

 The nest of this species is usually built in the hollow trunk of a large tree, 

 or on a piece of projecting bark within 6 or 7 feet from the ground, on the 

 top of a horizontal branch of a Melaleuca, or placed against its stem, and 

 supported by a small twig. It is cup-shaped and composed of strips of bark 

 and grasses, held together with cobwebs, and ornamented on the outside and 

 rim of the nest, which is very thick, with pieces of lichen, rendering it diffi- 

 cult of detection, and closely resembling the branch on which it is placed ; 

 the inside is neatly and warmly lined with hair or opossum fur. Eggs, three 

 in number for a sitting, of a greenish-white ground colour, freckled and 

 spotted all over the surface of the shell, with purplish-brown, wood-brown, 

 and bluish-grey markings ; length, 072 x 0*6 inch. September and the three 

 following months constitutes the usual breeding season of this species. 



