THE YELLOW-BREASTED SHRIKE-EOBIN 



355 



and their larvie. It has a very pleasant and friendly note when 

 it elects to sing, but while you are watching each other the bird 

 generally preserves silence. It breeds throughout the latter half 

 of the year, rearing two or more broods, and is a close sitter. 

 The nest is usually placed on the fork of a low tree, and is a 

 round cup-shaped structure, composed of strips of soft bark and 



From life. D. Le Souef. 



Nest of Yellow-breasted Shrike-Robin : Eopsaltria ay.^tralis. 



fibrous matter, the outside and rim beautifully trimmed with 

 lichens, and strips of bark attached by means of cobweb and 

 hung vertically around the nest. It is lined with soft material, 

 wiry grasses or hair. The eggs, 2 or 3 in number, of a bright 

 apple or bluish-green ground colour, speckled and spotted all 

 over with different shades of reddish and chestnut -brown. 

 Dimensions .83 x .62 inch. 



