42 
THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
Notes. — Also called Chestnut-backed Ground-bird and Chestnut- 
backed Ground-thrush. Usually in pairs or family parties. It is shy and 
local in habits ; when flushed it rises with a “whirr,” flies a short distance, 
and alights on the ground or on a low limb of a tree. Frequents alike 
open forest country, mallee, “marlock,” and mulga scrubs. Call-note, a 
low piping whistle. Food: chiefly insects. The female is duller than the 
male, the throat and chest being grey. 
Nest. — A depression in the ground, loosely lined with twigs, strips of 
bark, and dead leaves; sheltered by a dead bush. 
Eggs. — Two, dull white or greyish- white, spotted all over, more so 
at the larger end, with brown and lavender markings. Breeding-season: 
August to December. 
4. Chestnut-breasted Quail-thrush Cinclosoma castaneothorax Gould 
cos-tan -e-o-tho' -rax — L., castaneus, chestnut; Gk, thorax , chest. 
Distribution. — Southern Queensland, inland to north-western Aus- 
tralia, and Western Australia. 
Notes. — Also called Chestnut-breasted Ground-thrush. Little is 
known of the habits of this rare species except that it frequents scrubby 
belts of trees; when flushed it is difficult to find again. The female is 
duller in colour than the male. 
Nest. — Not described. 
Eggs. — A. J. North describes an egg said to be of this species as dull 
white, thickly sprinkled with irregular shaped dots, spots, and small 
blotches of blackish-brown, intermingled with similar underlying markings 
of inky-grey, which predominate on the larger end. 
5. Spotted Quail-thrush Cinclosoma punctatum Shaw 
punc-ta-tum — L., punctatus , spotted. 
Distribution. — Southern Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, 
South Australia, and Tasmania. 
Notes. Also called Spotted Ground-bird, Ground-thrush, Ground- 
dove, and Babbling-thrush. Usually in pairs or family parties; local in 
habits. It is rather a shy species, and when flushed rises like a Quail, 
flies a short distance away, and either alights on the ground or on a limb 
of a tree. Food: chiefly insects, procured on the ground under debris. 
The female is duller in colour than the male, has the throat white, 
the spot on the side of the neck is light rufous, but lacks the black band 
across the breast. 
Nest . — Cup-shaped, loosely put together, and composed of strips of 
bark, leaves, and grasses; lined with softer materials. Usually built at the 
foot ’of a tree, near a rock or log, or hidden against a tuft of grass or 
low bush. 
Eggs —Two, sometimes three, dull white, spotted all over with dark 
brown and lavender markings. Breeding-season: August to February. 
