The Insectivorous Birds of N.S. W. 17 



57. Petr(eca phoenicea, Gould. " Elame-breasted Eobin." 

 Petroica phcenica, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. nr, pi. 6 (1848) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Birds, p. 104 (1889). 

 Frequents the same situations, and is similar in habits to the preceding 

 species. Nests in old tree stumps and on the sides of steep banks. 



58. Petrceca GOODEisroYii, Vigors and Horsfield. " Bed-capped Eobin. 



Petroica goodenovii, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., vol. in, pi. 5 (181S) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Birds, p. 103 (1889). 



This species is only found in the inland districts of the Colony. Tt is 

 freely dispersed throughout the western portions of New South Wales 

 wherever there is any light timber or scrub. The nest of this Eobin is a 

 beautiful cup-shaped structure, composed externally of bark fibre, held 

 together with fur or fragments of wool, and lined inside with hair or opposum 

 fur. The edge of the nest is thick and rounded, and the whole exterior is 

 ornamented with pieces of mouse-eared lichen, so as to resemble the branch 

 on which it is placed. The eggs are two or three in number for a sitting, of 

 a greyish-green ground •eolour, thickly freckled with purplish-brown markings, 

 which become confluent towards the larger end, and form a well-defined 

 zone ; length, 063 x 0"5 inch. The Eed-capped Eobin is not unfrequently 

 the foster parent of the Narrow-billed Bronze Cuckoo, another insectivorous 

 species. 



59. Melanodryas bicolor, Viq. and Horsf. " Hooded Eobin," 

 " Black and White Eobin." 

 Petroica bicolor, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed , Vol. in, pi. 7 (1818). 

 Melanodryas bicolor, North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Bds., p. 105 (18S9). 



With the exception of the districts immediately contiguous to the coast, 

 this species is found all over New South Wales. It may be met with on the 

 wooded flats and open forest country between Blacktown and Penrith, and 

 on the Blue Mountains, but is far more freely distributed in the low pine 

 scrubs on the western side of the range. The nest of this species is a neat, 

 open, shallow structure, composed of strips of soft bark, held together with 

 cobwebs, and lined inside with fine wiry grasses. It is usually placed in the 

 fork of a low tree, within a few feet of the ground. Eggs, two or three in 

 number for a sitting, of an olive or apple-green colour, but frequently 

 washed or spotted with reddish-brown on the larger end ; length, 0'83 x 0'65 

 inch. Beetles and their larvae constitute the principal portion of this bird's 

 food. The figure represents a male. 



60. Melanodryas picata, Gould. "Pied Eobin." 



Melanodryas picata, Gould, Handbk. Bds., Austr., Vol. i, sp. 1G9, p. 285 

 (1865) ; North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Bds., p. 105 (1889). 

 A smaller race of the above species, inhabiting north- Avestern Australia, 

 and only on one occasion recorded from New South Wales, when it was 

 found breeding near Bourke. 



61. Drymodes brunneopygia, Gould. " Brown Scrub Eobin." 



Drymodes brunneopygia, Gould, Bds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. in, pi. 10 



(1848). 

 A very rare species in New South Wales, and confined to the thick mallee 

 scrubs in the south-western portions of the Colony. It breeds on the 



