Insectivorous Birds of Neio South Wales. 31 



colour, finely freckled all over with purplish-red or reddish-brown markings ; 

 length, 0'76 x 0'53 inch. This species is extremely shy, and it is seldom 

 possible to get a glimpse of it, except when it flies over a clear expanse o£ 

 water from one clump of rushes to another. In summer its plaintive note 

 may be heard during the night. 



103. Aceocephalus austealis, Gould. " Eeed Warbler." 



Acrocephalus australis, Grould, Birds of Austr., fol. ed., Yol. in, pi. 37 (1848) j 

 North, Nests and Eggs Austr. Birds, p. 169. 



A migratory species, arriving in New South Wales about the end of 

 September, and departing again in March. It frequents the reedy margins of 

 rivers and lagoons, and is freely dispersed over most parts of the Colony. 

 The nest of the Reed Warbler is usually built between two or three upright 

 reeds growing in the water. It is a deep cup-shaped structure, outwardly 

 composed of the soft, paper-like sheaths of reeds and decaying water-weeds, 

 and lined inside with grasses, sometimes a few feathers being worked into 

 the bottom of the nest. Eggs, three or four in number for a sitting, of a. 

 greyish-white ground colour, spotted and blotched all over with different 

 shades of yellowish-brown, blackish-brown, and underlying markings of deep 

 violet-grey ; length, - 8 x - 55 inch. The breeding season commences in 

 October, and lasts until the end of January. Not unfrequently this bird 

 resorts to gardens, especially those containing a reed-fringed creek or water- 

 hole. Like the preceding species, the cheerful notes of the Eeed Warbler 

 may be frequently heard during the night. 



{To be continued.} 



[Four plates.] 



Sydney : William Applegate Gullick, Government Printer.— 1S97. 



