Alabama, /p 13. 17 



to get a sight of them, this being rendered the more difficult by 

 their often frequenting the most inaccessible and precipitous side 

 of gullies and ravines, covered with tangled masses of creepers 

 and umbrageous trees ; the crackling of a stick, the rolling of a 

 small stone, or any other noise, however slight, is sufficient to 

 alarm them." They are solitary in their habits, rarely more than a 

 pair being seen together, and are constantly wandering through 

 the brush. Among the many curious habits is that of forming 

 small round hillocks, which are constantly visited during the day 

 and upon which the male is continually trampling, at the same 

 time erecting and spreading out his tail in the most graceful man- 

 ner. When alarmed they run through the brush with the greatest 

 rapidity, carrying the tail horizontally. The male is a singer of 

 no mean attainments, having a variety of calls and notes of his 

 own, as well as being an expert imitator of the notes of other 

 birds and even the howling of the Dingo. The early morning and 

 evening are the periods when they are most animated and active. 

 The nest, which is artfully concealed, is placed on the ledge of a 

 projecting rock, on the top of a stump or the base of a tree. It 

 is of large size, formed outwardly of large sticks and lined with 

 the inner bark of trees and fibrous roots, and is more or less com- 

 pletely roofed over. The single egg is large and very dark col- 

 ored, appearing as though smeared with ink. The young bird, 

 which is clothed with down for a month, remains in the nest for 

 six weeks or more. 



2 BB 



