44 THE WOMBAT. 



and lichens adorn the exterior of the nest, which is placed in 

 a horizontal fork, usually on a dead branch of a gum tree. A 

 nest I took at Marcus Hill on December 5th, 1891, contained 

 four eggs. It was built about 12 feet from the ground, but 

 more often the nest is well within reach. The usual clutch 

 of eggs is three. They are like those of the Wagtail, but the 

 ground colour is a richer cream, and the ring of spots is better 

 defined and larger. One pair of these birds has been known 

 to build in the same spot for four or five years running. The 

 local name is " Crested Wagtail," but the crest — if any 

 exist — is rarely in evidence. Probably the original donor of 

 the name confused this bird with the Shining Flycatcher,, 

 which it somewhat resembles. 



The Shining Flycatcher (Myiagra nitida) cannot be called 

 a common bird with us. I once saw a single male bird at 

 Spring Creek, but never nearer Geelong than that. The male 

 has a glossy purple-black head, back, neck and throat, 

 with the breast white. The female's back is brown, and the 

 throat is salmon-coloured. The note is like that of the restless 

 flycatcher- — very harsh. In November, 1894, ■"■ found two 

 nests of this species in the bush at the back of Airey's Inlet, 

 but unfortunately the nest was in each case out of reach. 

 They were built in lofty messmate trees, and much resembled 

 knots in the wood. The birds showed me their whereabouts 

 by their actions, as they flew to and from the nest ; other- 

 wise, I should never have discovered them. The eggs number 

 three or four, and are slightly smaller than those of the Black 

 and White Fantail. 



The Brown Flycatcher (Microeca fascinans) loves the 

 bush round the Queenscliff Road. It is a plain bird, light 

 brown in colour, with a conspicuous white feather on each 

 side of its tail. The local name is Spink or Sphinx : reason 

 unknown, unless it be that you require the patience of the 

 Sphinx if you wish to find the bird's nest. The generic name 

 means " small-housed," and it is accurate. No other of our 

 birds build such a tiny abode for itself. It is onhy a couple 

 of inches in diameter, built of light grass and tiny scraps of 

 bark, and is so thin that the eggs may easily be seen from 

 underneath. Such a structure would be very difficult to dis- 

 cover were it not that the parent birds, in their anxiety to 

 protect their home, as a rule fly straight to it when they find 

 they are being watched. Sometimes I have watched a pair 

 of these birds for half an hour at a time, and at last one has 

 flown to the nest in the very tree under which I had been 

 sitting. 



The nest is most often built in the dead horizontal fork 

 of a gum-tree at a height of about 10 feet from the ground, 



