WILD LIFE IN TASMANIA. 
23 
towards him. He is dubbed “ fantail ” by the bush-folk, from 
his habit of spreading out his tail during his aerial manoeuvres. 
Perched upon a stump near is a native sparrow, much resem- 
bling the British hedge sparrow, but of a somewhat thicker 
build ; very grave and judge-like is he, with his head-feathers 
ruffled up, and a generally thoughtful appearance as if revolving 
some important scheme. Self-contained as he appears, how- 
ever, his weather-eye has been wide open ; with a sudden 
dart he is on the ground, tugging away at a huge worm, the 
other end of which is still fast in the earth. A few vigroous 
jerks loosen the anchored portion considerably, and he is now 
three-quarters out. Letting go for a moment, the sparrow seems 
to draw a deep breath for the supreme effort ; it is made, and 
triumphantly he flies off to the bush to devour the dainty and 
perhaps share it with his mate, who is probably nest-building. 
Hopping about among the bracken are the beautiful little 
wrens, tiny things with short, straight tails, compared with whom 
their more numerous brethren with the long stick-up tails are 
giants. It is a curious thing about these latter that each 
gentleman, known by his bright blue head and wings with 
black stripes, seems to be accompanied by quite a harem of 
soberly-attired ladies. But to return to the tiny ones whose 
plumage in the shade seems merely light grey underneath, and 
dull brown on the back : seen in the sun this dull brown 
becomes a beautiful gold-bronze, throwing back the light like 
a polished shield. They clamber about among the tall ferns 
and dead thistle-stalks, each of which is quite a tree in their 
small estimation, and a happy hunting-ground too, to judge by 
the way their little beaks are kept going. 
But soft ! what is this ? A new bird, new at least to me, 
suddenly emerges from the thicket and squats upon the fence, 
where he immediately proceeds to open his mouth in a way 
which would delight a singing master, and gives out four loud 
clear notes ; we have just time to notice that his breast and 
back are mottled very much after the style of the bush thrush, 
and that he is only about half the size of that bird, when he 
plunges back into the thicket, and is seen no more. 
Overhead, among the boughs of the big eucalypti, the green 
parrots are whistling, and far away back in the gully among 
the myrtles and sassafras sounds the strident note of the black 
jay, warning us of sunset ; so, shouldering arms, we pick our 
way among the logs and stumps and over the hill to the hut 
where we are camped. But what is this delicate little bird 
picking about among the billets of firewood which lie strewn 
before the door ? Another stranger ! This is indeed a day of 
surprises ornithological. It is the graceful emu wren, or some 
closely allied species ; very much the same cut as the long- 
tailed wren, previously noticed, but a great deal smaller, and 
having the light grey breast marked with long black splashes. 
How mild it is this evening ! The strong sea-breeze has died 
