14 The Insectivorous Birds of N.S. W. 



pieces of bark and wiry rootlets held together with cobwebs, and ornamented 

 on the outside with pale green lichens ; usually it is placed on the top of an 

 horizontal bough, and frequently at a great height from the ground. The 

 eggs are three in number for a sitting, dull bluish-white in ground colour, 

 with a zone of dark, slaty-blue spots around the centre or towards the 

 larger end of the egg ; length, 74 x 055 inch. Although far less common 

 than the preceding species it is an active and assiduous destroyer of insects. 



48. Mtiagba nitida, Gould. " Shining Flycatcher." 



Myiagra nitida, Gould. Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. II, pi. 91 (1848) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs, Austr. Bds., p. 94 (1889). 



This comparatively rare species in New South Wales resembles the pre- 

 ceding one, but is larger, and the male has the feathers of the head, throat, 

 and upper surface glossy steel-black, instead of leaden-grey, as in M. rubecula. 

 Its habits and mode of nidification are similar to those of the Leaden-coloured 

 Flycatcher. 



49. Mice^ca iascisans, Latl/am. Brown Flycatcher. " Jacky "Winter." 



Micrceca macroptera, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. n, pi. 93 (1848). 

 Micrceca fascinans, North, Nests and Eggs, Austr. Bds., p. 95 (1889). 



A resident and well-known species as freely distributed inland as it is near 

 the coast, where it may be found frequenting alike the tall Eucalypti and 

 the low undergrowth, and is equally common in the parks and gardens of 

 Sydney. This sombre little bird with its conspicuous white lateral tail 

 feathers, which shows to advantage when flying, is an indefatigable des- 

 troyer of insects, and being of a 'fearless and sociable disposition, is a 

 general favourite with orchardists and agriculturists. It usually commences 

 to breed in September, and continues the three following months, but nests 

 have been found in August and as late as the end of January. The nest is 

 very small and shallow, and is composed of grasses built in the fork of a 

 horizontal bough, a dead branch being usually the site selected, the rim of 

 the nest, which is level with the top of the forked branch, being ornamented 

 with pieces of bark and lichen. The eggs are two or three in number for a 

 sitting, of a bluish-green ground colour, spotted and blotched with purplish- 

 brown and underlying blotches of deep bluish-grey ; length, 0'72 x 55 inch. 



50. Monaecha melanopsis, Tieillot. " Black-faced Flycatcher." 



Monarelia carinata, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. Vol. ir, pi. 95 (184S). 



Monarclia melanopsis, North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Birds, p. 96 (1SS9). 



A migratory species arriving in New South Wales during the month of 

 September, and departing again at the end of March. It frequents the 

 dense coastal brushes and the secluded gullies of our mountain ranges. The 

 nest of this species is generally built in a low tree, and is a most beautiful 

 structure, outwardly composed of fine green mosses, and neatly lined inside 

 with fine black hair-like rootlets on the wiry leaves of the Gasuarina. The 

 eggs are two in number for a sittiug, varying in ground colour from pure 

 white to pinkish-white, with numerous spots and dots of bright red scattered 

 over the surface of the shell ; length, 09 x 07 inch. When these birds first 

 arrive they may be frequently observed in pairs in the open forest lands, 

 assiduously searching for insects among the branches of the Eucalypti. 



