24 Insectivorous Birds of New South Wales. 



81. Sericornis magnirostris, Gould. Large-billed Sericornis. 



Sericornis magnirostris, Gould, Birds Austr., fol. ed , Vol. in, pi. 52 (1848) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs Austr. Bds., p. 132 (1889). 



A smaller species, frequenting the same situations as the Yellow-throated 

 Sericornis, and which it resembles in habits and mode of nidification. Eggs, 

 three or four in number for a sitting, of a faint purplish-white ground 

 colour, indistinctly spotted with dark-brown, the markings usually being 

 confined to the larger end of the egg, and forming a confluent patch or 

 well-defined zone ; length, 0'77 x 0"58 inch. The Large-billed Sericornis 

 is frequently the foster-parent of the Ean-tailed Cuckoo (Cacomantis 

 Habelliformis) . 



82. Sericornis frontalis, Vigors and Horsfield. "White-fronted Seri- 

 cornis. 



Sericornis frontalis, Gould, Birds Austr., fol. ed., Vol. in, pi. 49 (1848) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs Austr. Bds., p. 131,.pl. 9, fig. 16 (1889). 



This is the most common species of the genus in New South "Wales, 

 inhabiting not only the coastal brushes, like S. citreogularis and 8. magni- 

 rostris, but also the scrubby undergrowth of the mountain ranges inland. 

 The nest is a dome-shaped structure, with a narrow entrance in the side ; it 

 is outwardly composed of leaves, dried portions of fern fronds, and wiry 

 rootlets, and lined inside with feathers or hair. Usually it is well-concealed 

 at the bottom of a scrubby bush, or under the shelter of a tuft of grass. 

 Sometimes it is placed in the dead, leafy top of a fallen sapling, or in a clump 

 of low ferns. Eggs, three in number for a sitting, of a faint purplish-brown 

 ground colour, with a well-defined zone of dark purplish-brown markings on 

 the larger end ; length, G"7S x 0'6 inch. This species commences to breed in 

 August, and continues the four following months. 



83. Sericornis haculatus, Gould. Spotted Sericornis. 



Sericornis maculatus, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. in, pi. 51 (1848) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs Austr. Bds., p. 133. 



The scrubs of the south-western portion of the Colony are the only places 

 in New South Wales this species is met with. In habits and mode of 

 nidification it resembles the preceding species. Eggs, three in number for 

 a sitting, of a fleshy-white ground colour, freckled and spotted with dark 

 purplish and slaty-grey markings, which predominate as usual towards the 

 larger end ; length, 0*78 x 054 inch. 



84. Pyrrholj^ius brunnea, Gould. Eed-Throat. 



Pyrrlwlcemus hrunneus, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. in, pi. 68 



(1848) ; North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Bds , p. 145, pi. ix, fig. 15, (1889). 



The Red-Throat inhabits the arid scrubs of the central and south-western 

 portions of the Colony, but where it is by no means numerous. The nest, 

 which is usually placed in a low bush near the ground, is spherical in form, 

 with a small hole in the side, and is composed of soft dried grasses, lined 

 inside with feathers or fur. Eggs, three or four in number for a sitting, of 

 a uniform olivaceous-brown, chocolate-brown, or bronze tint, some specimens 

 having an indistinct zone or cap on the larger end. The food of the Eed- 

 Throat consists exclusively of insects. 



