M A LU R TS BLEG A NS (Gould). 



tWACEFri. Si rEh'li WARBLER 



Tj^llls \m\ beautiful Bpecies is an inhabitant of Western Australia, where it is fairly numerous. 



I,, habit8 it clues not diH'er materially from the other members of the genus, like them 



.1 ruining it- gay attire only during the breeding season. 



It breeds during September and the three following months, and lays four eggs in a dome-shaped 

 ,,, .1 made of the bark of the Melaleuca (Tea-tree), lined with feathers, and suspended from some small 

 shrub-like tree, the Tea-tree being most frequently chosen. The eggs are about eight lines in length 

 and -i\ lines in breadth. Their colour is white, slightly tinted with pink, and spotted with reddish- 

 brown. 



Th. male has the crown of the head, ear-coverts, and centre of the back, light blue; scapularies, 

 chestnut; back of the neck, throat, chest, and rump, black; wings, brown; abdomen, white; tail, dull 

 bluish-brown : iridep, bill, and feet, brown. 



Tlx female ha- all the upper surface and wings, brown; throat and under surface, greyish-whit'-; 

 all the real very much the same as the male. 



Total length of male, 5^ inches; bill, | inch; wing, L| inch; tail, 3^ inches; tarsi, 1 inch. 



Habitat: Western Australia. 



MALURUS CYANETJS (Vieiiht). 



SUPERB WARBLER. 



r Ml I IS bird is abundantly distributed over Xew South Wales, Victoria, and the southern part of 

 -L Queensland, and specimens have also been found in South Australia. 



It frequents the same class of country as the Malurus Mclanovephalus, namely, damp places 

 covered with long grass and under-growth. It also frequents gardens, and sometimes even builds its 

 nest in trees in the middle of a town. Gould mentions having seen a pair building in a tree in 

 front of the Colonial Secretary's Office in Sydney. 



It seldom flies, but runs along the ground very swiftly, keeping the tail erect. 



Tin insects which constitute its food are obtained among the grass or from fallen logs and trees. 



During the Autumn and Winter it is very tame, but on assuming its beautiful plumage the 

 male becomes exceedingly shy and timid, but at the same time most anxious to show off its gay 

 attire. 



