0PISTH0C0MU5. 61 



evidently support but a very small part o£ the weight o£ the 

 bodv. aud are more concerned whh. its equipoise and stability. 



"To judge iirom the conditions under which the birds at 

 present here exist, it would seem that the sluggish habit has been 

 brought about by a weakening o£ special muscles through disuse. 

 From the nature of their food no prolonged flight is needed in 

 order to procure it ; from the nature of their habitat they are 

 little liable to be interfered with or pursued, and, if troubled, 

 they can easily take refuge without prolonged flights. Even by 

 man they are seldom meddled with, except for scientific pur- 

 poses, since a peculiar and unpleasant odour attaches to the 

 flesh, especially after death, and which seems to be due to the 

 penetration of the fluid and gaseons contents of the digestive 

 tract. On this account they are not generally eaten ; but a 

 few cases have been reported to me in wliich thev have been 

 utilized for food. 



" Tlie nesting-time of the birds certainly extends from December 

 to July, and I think it very likely that it is continuous throughout 

 the year. From information given to me in 1887, I was led to 

 conclude that March and April were their nesting-months; but as 

 the result of my own observation, chicks are to be found quite 

 earlv in January, aud freshly-laid eggs in the early part of Julv, 

 as well as the intervening months. 



" The nests, which are made solely of a slightly concave mass 

 of dried twigs and sticks taken from the plants on which thev are 

 built, and loosely laid on top and across each other, are placed in 

 conspicnous positions high up over the water or soft mud, on the 

 top of or amongst the bushy growth, where they are fully exposed 

 to the direct sunshine. Almost invariably the plants thus built on 

 were the close-growing ' Bundoorie pimpler,' though in a few cases 

 I have seen them on the courida and on a "pimpler (or prickly) 

 jialni'' [Bactris major). 



" In October 1888, along the Abary Creek, when nearlv for a 

 fortnight the birds were under observation at frequent intervals, 

 no nests nor young were noticed ; but as the Bundoorie pimpler 

 was almost entirely absent, and the lining growth along the 

 water-side consisted of mucco-mucco and other i)lants, on the top 

 of which it was impossible for the birds to iierch, and much more 

 so to make nests, it may well be tliat they were even (lien 

 nesting, but in such positions as to be screened from observation. 



