SOME BIRDS OF THE AIR AND OPEN SPACES 
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cultivation paddocks. It is a migratory species, usually arriving in south- 
eastern Australia during August or September, departing about February, 
It spends much of its time on the ground, but frequently perches on fences 
and stumps, or in dead trees. Usually when flushed it will sing as it flies 
away. It is one of our finest songsters, ascending high in the air, singing 
as it rises or while hovering with trembling wings ; it then suddenly 
descends, uttering a chuckling sound as it drops. Food: insects of various 
kinds. The plumage of the male during the breeding-season is much 
darker ; the female is considerably smaller than the male. 
Nest . — A cup-shaped structure, composed of dried grasses ; lined with 
softer materials. Built in a depression in the ground, and usually placed 
near a tuft of grass or a low shrub. 
Eggs . — Three or four, salmon-pink, marked all over with pinkish- 
red markings, with a well-defined zone at the larger end. Breeding-season : 
September to December, January, or February. 
