THE BIRDS OF THE COBBORA DISTRICT. I^I 



Pardalotus oriiattts (Striated Pardalote). — A very common species, more especially where most 

 of the timber lias been killed. They are friendly little birds, showing little fear of man. Breeding 

 here in great numbers, either placing their nests in hollows in trees or a hole drilled into a bank of a 

 river or creek. They usually lay four eggs for a sitting during October. 



Pardalotus punctatus (Spotted Pardalote). — It appears to be rather rare, but owing to its habits. 

 it could easily escape notice, but I have only met with it in the iron bark ranges. When nesting, it 

 drills a mouse-like hole into the flat ground almost anywhere amongst fallen eucalyptus leaves, and is 

 only found by either flushing the bird or seeing it building. 



Melitkreptus brevirostris (Brown-headed Honey-eater). — Some years they arrive in rather large 

 flocks early in the spring, and will be noticed travelling from tree to tree as if they were in a great 

 hurry, but anything strange will at once attract their attention, and they come to very close quarters 

 to make an inspection. When nest building they have a peculiar habit of plucking fur and hair from 

 live animals ; while sitting on horseback watching them, I have often had them come and perch upon 

 the hor^e I was riding and try to pull hair out. Unless noticed in course of building their nests are 

 very difficult to find, the birds being exceptionally close sitters. 1 have only found three of their 

 nests, from two of which 1 took a Pallid Cuckoo's egg. 



Pleetorhampkus lanceolalus (Striped Honey-eater). — Rather a rare species in this district, only 

 met with in scattered pairs, mostly ip the more thickly-timbered country. They are exceptionally 

 close sitters. I once found a nest with a bird sitting, over thirty feet from the ground, at the extreme 

 end of a long thin branch, in a large ironbark tree. As I was many miles from home, and had nothing 

 with me to enable me to get the eggs, excepting a tomahawk, I climbed the tree and cut the branch off, 

 thinking I could hold it and allow it to swing down , but it proved to be too heavy, so I had to let it fall. 

 While I was descending the tree, I noticed one of my spaniels go up to the nest, and, much to my 

 surprise, she flushed the sitting bird. The nest contained four fresh eggs, only one of which was broken 

 in the fall. When eggs are taken, the birds will often build another nest in the same tree, or a neigh- 

 bouring one. The clutch is usually four. 



Myzomela nigra (Black Honey-eater). — Until the present spring (1917) I had only seen about 

 half-a-dozen of these birds here, and they put in an appearance during a very severe drought. This 

 year they arrived in fair numbers during October, and started to breed almost immediately. Between 

 October 36th and November nth, I found twelve of their nests, each containing two eggs, and no 

 doubt had I taken the trouble to look for them, could have found many more. No nest was mere than 

 two feet from the ground, and some of them only fifteen inches. I noticed that the female alone dees 

 all the nest building, and takes upon herself the entire task of incubation, and I found her to be a very 

 close sitter ; often she wuold allow me to approach within six feet before she would leave the nest. 

 The male is rather shy, but never goes far away from the situation of the nest. Their call note is very 

 similar to that of the Grass Bird, but is much more feeble. 



Entomophila picta (Painted Honey-eater). — I had not seen this species in the district till the 

 spring of 1914. when I found a pair builidng a nest in a pine tree, from which I took a pair of eggs 

 on September 27th. I saw no more of these birds until the spring of the present year (1917), 

 when about a dozen pairs put in an appearance in the ironbark ranges, and I found them to be 

 amongst the most extraordinary little birds which have ever come under my notice. In some 

 respects they somewhat resemble the Mistletoe Birds, otherwise they differ from any other species 

 I know of. After spending all my spare time watching them for about six weeks, I had found 

 eight of their nests, from three of which I took a pair of eggs, from one a clutch of three, another 

 contained young when I found it, the other three were deserted, apparently before eggs were laid. 

 The nests are about the most frail structures imaginable, often quite invisible from the ground. In 

 some cases (when the birds are off the nest) the eggs only could be seen without field glasses. One 

 of the strange things about them is, they take from three to four weeks to complete a nest. The 

 lowest I found was placed exactly thirty feet from the ground, and the highest sixty-five feet. All 

 the nests were built at the extreme end and in the leaves of a very long, thin horizontal branch 



