64 A NATURALIST IN TASMANIA ch. 



some of these are among the most beautiful small 

 birds in the world. The little Blue Wren of the 

 colonists, Malurus longicaudatus (Gould), has a 

 wonderfully long tail, which is held erect perpen- 

 dicularly above the body ; the male has the 

 shoulders and head of a vivid electric blue, with 

 a black collar, while the female is dull brown, with 

 a greyish breast ; but in the autumn the male 

 loses his beautiful colouring and resembles the 

 female, reacquiring his blue cape and hood in the 

 spring. It builds a dome-shaped nest in low 

 shrubs, with the opening at the side, and in this 

 nest the Bronze Cuckoo frequently lays its eggs. 

 The Wren haunts clearings in the forest, and is 

 indeed very common everywhere, especially in gar- 

 dens. A very closely related species, M, cyaneus, 

 occurs in Southern Australia and New South 

 Wales. Another long-tailed Flycatcher, but of 

 a larger size and dull colouring, is the Fan-tailed 

 Flycatcher (Rhipidura albiscapa), which has the 

 habit of flirting its tail and spreading it out like 

 a fan. This is a very common bird and is widely 

 distributed on the Australian mainland. 



A very common short-tailed Flycatcher of great 

 beauty is the Flame-breasted Robin {Petroica 

 phoenicea), so called from its vermilion breast, 

 though of course it has nothing to do with our 

 European Robin. This bird is about the size of a 

 Bullfinch, the back and wings are black with white 

 markings, and the whole of the chin, breast, and 

 belly is of a brilliant vermilion in the male sex. 



