356 BIRDS OF THE DISTRICT OF GEELONG 
any migratory movement, and breeds wherever it is 
found at other times of the year. It lives upon 
insects and the seeds of grasses. 
Everyone know^s its habits who has ever driven 
along a grassy country road. It runs with rapidity 
for a little distance, and then halts, balancing its 
white-edged tail up and down, presently to run on 
again, halt again, and finally fly with a little twitter, 
to repeat the performance a few yards farther on. 
It perches readily enough on stones and fences, but, 
strangely, never on trees except when it is actually 
nesting, and then it seems to prefer settling for a 
moment on the swaying end of a bough to anywhere 
else. It does not perch on the branch like an ordinary 
passerine bird would, but seems to try to hang on 
uncertainly on top of the leaves. 
At this season of the year, too, it has what almost 
amounts to a song, a cheerful little chirrup, which it 
trills as it flies up into the air, drops a little, up again 
in a curve, drops, curves again, and so forth, till it 
attains a height which might almost be the envy of 
a Skylark, singing at each upward curve, only to 
descend, immediately the top of its flight is attained, 
like a stone to the ground. 
Most nests I have seen had eggs in the month of 
September. The nest is composed of fine dry grass 
only, without feathers, and is fashioned to the shape 
of a neat cup in a depression sheltered by a tuft of 
grass. The usual clutch of eggs is three, but on 
two occasions I have seen four. They are of a dull 
