BIRDS OF THE REED-BEDS AND GRASS-LANDS 
197 
Notes. — Also called Chestnut-eared Finch. Usually in pairs or flocks, 
frequenting grass-lands bordering watercourses and plains intersected with 
scrub ; also common in partly cleared and cultivated lands. It is nomadic 
in habits, and spends much of its time on the ground feeding chiefly on 
the seeds of grasses and herbaceous plants. Its song is a quaint soft trill, 
somewhat like a tune played on a toy musical-box. 
Nest. — A bottle-shaped structure, built on its side, composed of dried 
grasses and soft plant-stalks; lined with feathers and other soft materials. 
Generally placed in a low bush, in vines or shrubs growing in gardens, in 
hollow limbs or holes in trees, in houses or sheds, and even in rabbit 
burrows. 
Eggs . — Four to eight, faint bluish-white. Breeding-season : under 
normal conditions, August to December. 
4. Painted Finch Cayleyna picta Gould 
Cayleyna — N. W. Cayley, the author of this book: pic-ta — L., pictus , 
painted. 
Distribution. — Mid-western and north-western Australia, Northern 
Territory, central Australia, and north-western Queensland (Cloncurry 
Range). 
Notes. — Usually in pairs or small flocks, frequenting stony hillsides 
where spinifex flourishes or grass-lands bordering watercourses. It has 
no song, but utters a pleasing twitter when flushed. It spends much of 
its time on the ground, searching for the seeds of grasses and other plants. 
Nest . — A flimsy, bottle-shaped structure, composed of dried grasses, 
chiefly spinifex stems ; lined with plant down. Generally placed in a 
natural cavity near the top of a clump of spinifex, or in a low bush. 
Eggs. — Four or five, white. Breeding-season: in any month from 
April to October or December. 
5. Red-browed Finch ZEgintha temporalis Latham 
Z E-gin -tha — Gk, aigintha, a kind of bird: tem-por-a-lis — L., temporalis , 
templed. 
Distribution. — Eastern Australia, from northern Queensland to South 
Australia. 
Notes. — Also called Redhead, Waxbill, Sydney Waxbill, Redbill, and 
Temporal Finch. Usually in pairs or flocks, frequenting alike grass-lands, 
partly cleared and cultivated lands, open forest, and the fringes of scrub- 
lands. It is a common species and abundant in the neighbourhood of towns 
and cities. It spends much of its time on the ground, feeding on the seeds 
of grasses and herbaceous plants. It has no song, but utters a plaintive 
twitter when flushed or when in flight. 
Nest * — A bulky, bottle-shaped structure, composed of dried and green 
grasses; lined with feathers and fine grasses. Generally placed in a small 
tree or bush, frequently in one entangled with vines. 
Eggs. — Five to eight, white. Breeding-season : September to January. 
