Insectivorous Birds of New South Wales. 25 



85. Acanthiza pusilla, Latham. Little Brown Acanthiza, " Tomtit." 



Acanthiza pusilla, Gould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. iit, pi. 53 (184S) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Bds., p. 133 (1889). 



The species belonging to the closely allied genera, Acanthiza and Geo- 

 basileus, found in New South Wales, are well known to most residents of 

 the Colony under the local names of " Tomtits " and " Dickies," which are 

 bestowed on all members of these genera. Being strictly insectivorous, and 

 frequenting orchards and gardens in search of food, they are most useful 

 little birds. The present species, A. pusilla, is more often met with in the 

 scrubby undergrowth near the coast than inland. It commences to breed in 

 July, constructing a dome-shaped nest of strips of bark and grasses, lined 

 inside with the white down from the seed-pods of the introduced " Cotton 

 Plant" (Gomphocarpus fruticosus) and feathers. The nest is usually built 

 near the ground, and frequently in the low fern (JPteris aquilina). Eggs, 

 three in number for a sitting, pure white, finely freckled with dull reddish- 

 brown on the thicker end, where in some instances the markings assume the 

 form of a zone ; length, 0'66 x 0'49 inch. 



86. Acanthiza lineata, Gould. Lineated Acanthiza, " Striped-headed 



Tomtit." 



Acanthiza lineata, Grould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. in, pi. 61 (1848) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Bds., p. 138 (1889). 



The Lineated Acanthiza is frequently met with in the same localities as 

 the preceding species, but it is more freely dispersed throughout the low 

 gum saplings that clothe the sides of our mountain ranges than the scrubby 

 undergrowth near the coast. The nest of this species, which is usually 

 built among the leafy twigs of a gum sapling, is a neat dome-shaped 

 structure, with a protecting hood sheltering the narrow entrance near the 

 top ; it is composed of bark fibre closely interwoven, and ornamented on the 

 outside with spiders' neBts or the white paper-like bark of the Melaleuca, and 

 warmly lined with feathers or opossum-fur. Eggs, three in number for a 

 sitting, elongate in form, of a pinky-white ground colour, distinctly zoned 

 on the larger end with brownish-red markings ; length, 07 x 0*5 inch. 

 Erom its habit of building a pendent nest, this bird is known locally by 

 bird-nesting boys in the neighbourhood of Sydney as the " Hanging Dicky." 



87. Acanthiza nana, Vigors and Horsfield. Little Yellow Acanthiza, 



" Yellow Tomtit." 



Acanthiza nana, Grould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Vol. hi, pi. 60 (1818) ; 

 North, Nests and Eggs of Austr. Bds., p. 137, pi. xm, fig. 16 (1889). 



This species is freely dispersed throughout the eastern portions of the 

 Colony. Near the coast it may be constantly met with in the light under- 

 growth, or among the Casuarince and Eucalypti, diligently searching for 

 minute insects which constitute its food. The nest is built in the topmost 

 twigs of a low tree, usually a Melaleuca or gum sapling, and not unfre- 

 quently at the extremity of a bushy bough of the acclimatised Pinus 

 insignus ; it is a dome-shaped structure with a narrow entrance near the 

 top, and is composed of bark fibre and grasses, ornamented on the outside 



