THE RED-BREASTED WARBLER. 
91 
black, and tlie red breast being of a soberer shade. Some 
of the species however are without red breasts. One of the 
most common is the Red-breasted Warbler of Lewin [Pe- 
troica multicolor, Plate VII. fig. 1), a species which often re- 
minds the colonists of the familiar and pretty robin of their 
native land. Mr. Gould, in his ' Birds of Australia/ says : — 
When far removed from our native land, recollections and 
associations are strong incentives for attachment to any ob- 
ject that may remind us of our home ; hence this beautiful 
robin, which enters the gardens and even the windows of 
the settlers, is necessarily a great favourite ; its attractiveness 
moreover is much enhanced by its more gay attire, the 
strong contrasts of scarlet, jet black, and white rendering 
it one of the most beautiful to behold of any of the birds 
of Australia.'''' The favourite places of resort of this species 
are low bushes and woods skirting open plains, where it can 
get its food in abundance. Insects of all kinds, from soft 
plant-lice to hard-skinned beetles, flying, crawling, and at 
rest, are its food. Its song and call-note are feeble com- 
pared with our robin, but somewhat resemble those of that 
clear- toned bird, with which in autumn we are so familiar. 
Mr. Gould describes the nest as being a compact structure 
of dried grasses, narrow strips of bark, mosses, and lichens^ 
