COCKTAIL 
257 
it was of the dead stalks, about 3 inches long, of 
some species of flowering grass ; these showed the 
dead seed-heads in most cases, and in some the roots 
also, and must have meant at least two hundred 
journeys for the birds. There were a few bits of 
" bark " from the thick stems of the thatch-grass, 
and some pieces which looked like dry, segmented 
branches of a water-plant. The eggs rested on a 
pad of feathers, including those of the Spotted Crake, 
some of smaller birds, and one small, downy Swan's 
feather. Interwoven in this pad was a very little 
of the fur of some small animal, probably a rat. 
Beneath the feather-pad the nest-material was denser 
but of finer pieces than the external wall, being of 
short bits of exceedingly fine, almost hair-like grass. 
The eggs were buff-coloured, spotted and blotched 
rufous and chestnut. 
Sportsmen call this bird " Stinker," as it has a strong 
smell, and dogs set to it. 
BROWN SONG-LARK 
Cinclorhamphus cruralis cruralis 
A PECULIARITY of this species is that the male is 
more than twice as big as the female. Both are 
brown in general plumage ; but the female is con- 
siderably lighter in colour than her mate. 
It is a summer visitor to this district from the 
north, coming in October and leaving in February, 
but is more often seen in some years than others. Its 
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