38 
five feet from the ground, several of these nests now before me have 
been built between the forked stems, or where several vines cross 
each other, in other instances they have been placed at the base 
of leaves on the thin horizontal stems, to which the nest is 
attached. The outside of the nest is formed of thin twigs, wiry 
rootlets, skeletons of leaves, and the fibre of the “ lawyer vine,” the 
inside which is cup-shaped, being neatly lined with finer materials, 
while the exterior portion of the nest is ornamented with mosses 
and lichens, which gives it a pleasing appearance. Exterior 
diameter 4*5 inches, depth 4 inches, internal diameter 2*75 inches, 
depth I T inch. The eggs are two in number for a sitting, and 
closely resemble in shape and colour large specimens of Avtarnus 
snperciliosus , being of a dull buffy-white ground colour, thickly 
covered, especially towards the larger end with clouded markings 
of umber-brown, in some instances they are more clearly defined 
and boldly blotched, and have markings of deep bluish-grey 
appearing as if beneath the surface of the shell. A set taken on 
the 18th September measures as follows: — Length (A) 1*05 x 
075 inch ; (B) 1*07 x 077 inch.* Plate i., fig. 4. 
Out ii Onyx spaldinoi, Ramsay . Spalding's Orthonyx. 
“ Choivchill(i. v Aborigines of Cairns District. 
This species has recently been met with rather freely dispersed 
through the dense brushes of the coastal range, chiefly in the 
neighbourhood of the Mulgrave and Russell Rivers, in North- 
Eastern Queensland. Mr. Cairn, who found several nests of this 
species, states they are usually built in the tangled roots of 
“lawyer vines,” but not unfrequently on the top of the elk’s-horn 
fern, as high as twelve feet from the ground. The nest is a 
large bulky dome-shaped structure with an entrance on one side, 
it is composed of twigs, roots and mosses, chiefly a species of 
HypnUin , so loosely put together that it will not bear removal. 
Unlike its southern ally 0. spinicaudus , it appears that only 
one egg is laid for a sitting. A nest found near “Roar Pocket,” 
on the 20th June last, contained but one egg in an advanced 
state of incubation, others were found as late as the middle 
of August. The breeding season this year (1889) would appear 
to be from May till the end of September, young birds being 
procured in June, but as in other parts of Australia the breeding 
season of birds is greatly influenced by the rains. The eggs, 
which are pure white, vary from elongated to swollen ovals, some 
being equal in size at each end. Two average sized specimens 
measure: — (A) L45 x 1 inch; (B) 138 x IT inch.* Plate i., 
fig. 2. 
and Sc rr , Vo k- iv.j Doc . ., 188 9 .- 
