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THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA 
PLATE XIX . 
BIRDS OF THE FOREST BORDERS AND GRASS-LANDS 
1. Scarlet Robin Petroica multicolor Gmelin — 1A. Female 
Pet-rote -a — Gk, petros, rock; Gk, oicos, house: mul'-ti-col-or — L., multi- 
color, many coloured. 
Distribution. — Extra-tropical Australia, and Tasmania; also occurs in 
Norfolk Island. 
Notes . — Also called White-capped Robin, Scarlet-breasted Robin, and 
Robin Redbreast. Usually in pairs, frequenting chiefly the mountain 
ranges during the spring and summer, and the flats and open forest-lands 
near the coast in the autumn and winter. It is also commonly seen in 
parks, orchards, and gardens. Its call-note is sweet and low; it also has 
a melodious song. Food : insects of various kinds and their larvae. 
Nest. — A cup-shaped sructure, composed of strips of bark, mosses, 
and dried grasses, woven and bound together with cobwebs; lined with 
hair, fur, feathers, or other soft materials. Generally built in a forked 
limb or on a horizontal branch of a low tree. Often the nest is placed 
between a piece of projecting bark and the trunk of a tree. 
Eggs. — Three or four, bluish, greenish, or brownish-white, thickly 
freckled, spotted, and blotched with shades of brown and underlying 
markings of purplish-grey. Breeding-season: July or August to December. 
2. Red-capped Robin Petroica goodenovii Vigors and Horsfield 
— 2 A. Female. 
goodenovii — Samuel Goodenough, Vice-President, Linnean Society, 
London. 
Distribution. — Australia generally. 
Notes. — Also called Redhead. Usually in pairs, frequenting chiefly 
open scrub-lands of the inland districts. This species is similar in habits 
to the Scarlet Robin. It has a peculiar call-note somewhat like the ticking 
of a clock or the gentle tapping of wood. Food : insects and their larvae. 
Nest. — A small, cup-shaped structure, composed of fine shreds of 
bark and dried grasses, bound together with cobwebs; lined with hair 
and fur, occasionally with a few feathers ; decorated on the outside with 
pieces of lichen. Generally built on the top of a thick horizontal branch or 
in an upright fork of a low tree. 
Eggs. — Two or three, bluish or greyish-white, minutely dotted, spotted, 
