12 The Insectivorous Birds of N.S. W. 



roots, the inside being neatly lined with finer rootlets. It is usually placed 

 in a low bush in the thick undergrowth, or in a mass of climbing plants, or 

 in the dead leafy top of a fallen gum sapling. Near Sydney the shrub 

 usually selected by this bird for a nesting site is the Blackthorn {Burs aria 

 spinosa). The eggs are two, rarely three, in number for a sitting, of a 

 beautiful bluish or greenish-white ground colour sparingly spotted _ and 

 blotched with irregular-shaped black markings ; length, T07 x 0-82 inch. 

 Although the Whip-bird is frequently heard in the vicinity of orchards and 

 gardens, it seldom ventures into them in search of insects which constitutes 

 its sole food. 



42. Sphe>~uba beachtpteea, Latham. " Bristle-bird." 

 Basyomis australis, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed. Yol. in, pi. 32 (184S). 

 Sphenura bracliyptera, North, Nest and Eggs of Austr. Bds., p. 125, pi. vnr, 



fig. 16 (1889). 

 An inhabitant chiefly of the coastal scrubs of the Colony, over which it is 

 sparingly dispersed. It is usually a shy and cautious species, but sometimes 

 it may be observed during spring, in the neighbourhood of Kandwick, perched 

 on the top of a low bush, pouring forth its rich and varied notes, resembling 

 those of the acclimatised Skylark {Alauda arvensis), and which it probably 

 mimics, as they are plentiful in that locality. The nest of this species is 

 usually built at the bottom of a stunted bush ; it is oval in form, with an 

 entrance in the side, and is constructed of dried wiry grasses. The eggs are 

 three in number for a sitting, of a dull white ground colour thickly freckled 

 and dotted with reddish-brown and blackish-brown markings. 



43. Rhipidttea albiscapa, Gould. " "White-shafted Fantail," " Land Wag- 

 tail," " Devil-bird." 



MMpidura albiscapa, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Yol. n, pi. 83 (18 IS) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Bds., p. 84 (1S89). 



A well-known and useful little bird of active and lively habits freely dis- 

 tributed over the greater portion of New South Wales. It evinces a decided 

 preference for open forest country with a light undergrowth, and is also 

 frequently met with in gardens or orchards in newly-settled districts. The 

 White- shafted Eantail, which lives exclusively on insects, principally flies and 

 gnats, may be often seen darting suddenly forth at passing insects, or 

 flitting from tree to tree, seldom remaining long in one position, and fre- 

 quently expanding its fan-shaped tail. The nest of this species is an 

 exceedingly neat and peculiar structure ; it is shaped like a wine-glass with 

 the base or stand broken off, and is composed of very fine strips of bark 

 securely held and bound together on the outside with spider's web, and 

 neatly lined inside with fibrous roots or wiry grasses. The eggs are two or 

 three in number for a sitting, of a creamy-white ground colour, spotted and 

 blotched with brown markings and a few obsolete spots of bluish-grey ; 

 length, 0'G4 x - 5 inch. The nest is usually placed on the thin dead branch 

 of a gum sapling or Melaleuca. 



41. Riiipiduba eufifeoxs, Latliam. " Rufous-rumped Eantail." 



Rliipidura rufifrons, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Yol. n, pi. 84 (1S4S) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Bds., p. 87 (18S9). 



This species inhabits the coastal scrubs of the Colony ; it visits the contigu- 

 uous open forest lands during wintei*, and retires again to the secluded gullies 



