CALAMANTHUS. 147 



A nest of this species, in the Australian Museum Collection 

 presented by Dr. Hurst together with its eggs, and taken by that 

 gentleman on the 16th of October 1886, at Newington on the 

 Parramatta River, was built in the forked branches of a young 

 mangrove, it is a deep cup-shaped structure, the opening at the top 

 being narrowed, and is outwardly composed of long fine twigs, lined 

 with dried grasses and a few feathers, it measures six inches in height 

 by four inches in breadth, and two inches and a-half in depth. It 

 is a much longer nestthan those built in the rushes. Eggs four in 

 number for a sitting, in form lengthened ovals, of a reddish-white 

 ground colour finely freckled all over with purplish-red markings ; 

 length (A) 0-73 x 0-52 inch ; (B) 0-76 x 0-53 ; (0) 0-75 x 0-54 

 inch. A set taken by myself on the 8th of October 1876, in the 

 Albert Park near Melbourne, are much darker and more heavily 

 marked, the ground colour at the larger end of the eggs being 

 almost obscured with deep reddish-brown and lilac markings, the 

 latter colour appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell. 

 Length (A) 0-68 x 0-5 inch ; (B) 0-72 x 0-5 inch ; (C) 0-75 x 0-52 

 inch ; (D) 0-68 x 0-52 inch. 



September and the two following months constitute the breeding 

 season of this species. 



Hab. Port Denison, Wide Bay District, Richmond and Clarence 

 River Districts, New South Wales, Interior, Victoria and South 

 Australia, Tasmania, West and South- West Australia. (Ramsay.) 



Genus CALAMANTHUS, Gould. 



3-'' CALAMANTHUS FULIGINOSUS, Vigors amd Horsfield. 

 Striated Calamantlms. 

 Gould, Handhk. Ms. Aust. Vol. i., sp. 237, p. 388. 



This bird is confined to Tasmania, the manner of its nidification 

 is similar in every respect to the following species C. campestris. 

 Eggs three or four in number for a sitting, of a light chocolate- 



