BIRDS OF THE OPEN FOREST 
73 
Eggs . — Usually three, light or rich bluish-green, heavily blotched with 
reddish or chestnut-brown markings, which sometimes obscure the ground 
colour. Breeding-season: September to January. 
3. Varied Triller Lalage leucomela Vigors and Horsfield — 3A. Female 
leuc-o-mel'-a — Gk, leucos, white; Gk, melas ( melanos ), black. 
Distribution. — Tropical Australia and the coastal districts of eastern 
Queensland and north-eastern New South Wales. 
N otes — Also called the Pied Caterpillar-eater and White-eyebrowed 
Caterpillar-eater. Mostly stationary, but in New South Wales it is a 
migrant ; arrives during October and departs in February or March. Seen 
mostly in pairs ; much shyer in habits than the White-winged Triller, its 
song is similar, but much softer, some of the notes resembling those of 
the Cicada-bird. Food: insects and their larvae; also certain native fruits 
and berries. 
N est . — A small, shallow, saucer-shaped structure, composed of plant- 
stalks, rootlets, and grasses, woven together with cobwebs ; usually built 
at the junction of a thin forked horizontal branch, and near the end of it. 
. Egg.— Pale to bright apple-green, uniformly blotched and spotted 
with markings of reddish or chestnut-brown, sometimes forming a zone at 
the larger end. Breeding-season : in eastern Australia from October to 
January or February. 
4. Cicada-bird (Jardine Caterpillar-eater) Edoliisoma temirostre 
Jardine — 4A. Female 
E-dol'-i-i-sdm-Or— Gk, edolios, a kind of bird; Gk, soma , body: ten-u-i - 
ros-tre — L., tennis , slender; L., rostrum , bill. 
Distribution. — Northern and eastern Australia, chiefly coastal and 
contiguous districts. 
N otes. — “Cicada-bird” is an appropriate name ; its call-notes resemble 
the buzzing sound of a large cicada, like “Kree-kree,” uttered continu- 
ously. Mostly seen in pairs ; arrives in New South Wales towards the end 
of September and departs during February. Food: insects; fond of 
cicadas, procured among the leaves and branches of trees. 
Nest . — A small, open, shallow structure, composed of lichen, pieces 
of thin bark, plant-stems, and leaves, woven together with cobwebs ; lined 
with finer materials, and decorated on the outside with lichen. An average 
nest measures 3^ by 2 inches. Usually built into the angle of a forked 
horizontal branch of a tree, up to 70 feet or more from the ground. 
Egg— Varying from pale bluish to greenish-grey, spotted and 
blotched with umber, slaty-brown, and underlying markings of lavender. 
Breeding-season: October to January. 
5 • Leaden Flycatcher Myiagra rubecnla Latham — 5A. Female 
My-i-ag'-ra — Gk, myiagra , flycatcher : ru-be-cu-la — L., rubeculus , reddish. 
Distribution . — North-western Australia, Northern Territory, and 
eastern Australia (from Cape York to Victoria) ; also found in New 
Guinea; accidental to Tasmania. 
