190 STURNIDa:. 



I found these birds very plentiful in the neighbourhood of 

 Wellington and Dubbo, in New South Wales. 



Sab. Rockingham Bay, Port Denison, Wide Bay District, 

 Dawson River, Richmond and Clarence Rivers Districts, New 

 South Wales, Interior, Victoria and South Australia. {Bamsay ) 



Family STURNID^. 



Genus CALOENIS, G. E. Gray. 



■3-V CALORNIS METALLIC A, Temminck. 



SMmng Calornls. 

 Oould, Randhk. Bds. Aust., Vol. i., sp. 291, p. 477. 



" This is one of the most common birds in the scrubs of the Herbert 

 River. They breed in companies, seemingly aU through the year, 

 making large bulky nests of grass and fine twigs with a side 

 opening, hanging from the ends of the leafy boughs in clusters 

 or singly ; at times the branches break off with the weight of the 

 nests and their contents. On the Herbert River I noticed they 

 gave preference to a small-leaved species of fig resembling Ficus 

 syringifolia ; and before a colony began to build the twigs on 

 many of the branches were broken and began to wither, and 

 hanging down, at a distance resembled in colour the brown nests 

 of this species. I noticed this on two occasions, and remarked to 

 Inspector Johnstone that the birds were building near his camp. 

 However, when examining the trees through our field-glasses, we 

 found nothing b)it bunches of dry leaves swinging about with the 

 wind. A few days afterwards we noticed a neighbouring fig-tree 

 in a similar condition, and as both trees were resorted to by these 

 birds, I was under the impression that it was caused by the ravages 

 of some insect which the birds came to feed on ; however, about 

 a month afterwards, Mr. Johnstone informed me that these trees 

 had been taken possession of by colonies of Weaver-birds (or 



