278 BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF GEELONG 
TOMTIT OR YELLOW-RUMPED TIT 
Geobasileus chrysorrhous sandlandi 
The Messmate Forest is the only part of the district 
in which the Tomtit is not to be found ; there its 
place is taken, as we shall see, by a close relation. 
Elsewhere it is widely distributed in all directions, 
from the You Yangs to Torquay, Queenscliff to 
Inverleigh, and no bird is better known throughout 
the countryside. The bright yellow patch at the 
base of the tail distinguishes it at once from every 
other small bird. 
It is not in any sense migratory, but forms in the 
autumn into small bands and companies of from 
half a dozen to twenty or thirty. These break up 
at the end of May, for the species pairs early ; on one 
occasion I found a nest half-finished on June 26th, 
and again hard-set eggs in another on July 9th. I 
have often noticed that the Tomtits begin to build 
when the first spring-flowers " or " harbingers of 
spring " appear, which is rarely later than the first 
week in July. 
Tomtits, especially when in flocks, feed largely upon 
the ground, which they search systematically for 
insects. They sing right through the year, a very 
merry, lively little strain, which Gould somewhat 
flatteringly compared to the song of the Goldfinch. 
The nesting-season, commencing, as mentioned, 
in July, goes on until November, probably at least 
