30 
The Queensland Naturalist. 
May, 1932. 
and is seen occasionally in both the Eucalyptus forest (on 
the south side of the ridges) and in the monsoon forest. 
On the inner edge of the mangroves in some situations 
where the soil is firmer, occurs a small holly-leaved shrub, 
Acanthus ilicifolius. which has rather showy blue flowers. 
Usually this plant has no peculiarities of liibit, but occa- 
sionally is found with small prop roots. The plant is two 
to four feet in height, and these prop roots may be de- 
veloped from rather trailing branches. 
Clerodendron inerme, a scrambling shrub, occurs on 
the edges of the mangrove forest, and has rather thick 
leaves. In less saline situations the leaves are thin. The 
branches of this shrub take root where they touch the 
ground, and the plant comes in time to cover a fairly 
large area. Hoya australis, a thick-leaved Asclepiadaceous 
vine found in most of the woodland formations of the 
island, is also common. Two eprphytic orchids, Dendro- 
bium undulatum and Cymbidium sp., are found in the 
branches of the mangroves, and extend to the other for- 
mations. 
THE RED-BKOWED FINCH. 
( Ayi nth a tern p or a, Us ) . 
By Mrs. II. CURTIS. 
The Redhead is a very ordinary subject, but some of 
his funny little ways may not have been recorded from 
districts where he is not so common. This little finch is 
one of the most plentiful of the wee birds of Tamborine 
Mountain. With a whirring of tiny wings, large flocks 
often fly up from almost beneath your feet, where they 
feed on the seeds of grass or weeds. 
The summer grass common on the farms here is a 
great favourite. When panicum or canary seed are grown 
for crops, these little acrobats have a great time — swinging 
on the swaying seed heads, feasting and enjoying them- 
selves. It is comical to see them alight on a seed stem, 
then shuffle along the bending blade until the seed is 
reached, or to see them giving little leaps to reach a seed 
head just above. 
Their nest (almost too well known to describe) is a 
large untidy mass of grass, like a big ball with a tunnel- 
like entrance on one side near the top. This ball of grass, 
often green, represents a lot of work for the tiny builders. 
The room inside is lined with feathers or thistle down, and 
in it the small white eggs are laid. Five is a usual clutch, 
but I have found as many as seven very often, and occa- 
sionally eight eggs in one nest, but whether two birds were 
using one nest or not I do not know. The nest is usually 
in a low shrub, the wild lime being a great favourite here, 
