THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
in many places with great masses of debris. It suddenly showed itself for a 
second or two, stood on a dead stick about 20 feet away with its tail erect and 
wings rather drooped. Then in a flash it disappeared again in the rubbish, and 
continued at intervals to call out as it travelled about completely hidden from 
view under the heap. While still under the debris, it accurately imitated 
the notes of the following birds : Yellow- throated Scrub Robin, Spine-tailed 
Logrunner, King Lory, Yellow-rumped Robin, White Goshawk, White-throated 
Tree Creeper, White-throated Thickhead, White-fronted Scrub Wren, Lewin’s 
Honey-eater, etc. ; and when imitating the note of the first-named these fussy 
little birds came over to the heap and sat on a twig over the Scrub Bird as it 
called out beneath them. The loud alarm note of the Spine-tailed Logrunner 
it very frequently utters to perfection and it is most difficult to discriminate 
which bird is called, an Atrichornis or a Logrunner. The ordinary note of the 
Atrichornis is a prolonged and shrill note, resembling ‘ Chirp-chirp-chirp-chirp,’ 
and usually repeated four times or more (generally four) in succession, with 
about half a second duration between each call ; but sometimes the interval 
is a little longer and the sound gradually lowers in pitch toward the last ‘ chirps.’ 
The male only calls, but I have often known him to remain silent for a whole 
day. I have never at any time seen an Atrichornis in a tree or bush ; they 
live entirely on the ground, partly hidden amongst the masses of fallen timbers 
and debris, and never for a moment do they leave these places, and therefore 
appear quite terrestrial in their habits. Their strong legs and very small wings 
prove that they spend most, if not all, of their time on the ground. 
“ When following the male it is often very difficult to locate the sound on 
account of his ventriloquial powers. Sometimes he sounds quite close, whereas 
the bird is perhaps many yards away ; again, the notes often appear to be over- 
head, though they are actually issued on the ground. The food appears to consist 
chiefly of snail’s eggs, young tender-shelled scrub snails, worms, insects, and the 
larvae and pupae of various Carabidae and other Coleoptera living in the masses 
of debris and under the damp leaves on the ground.” 
Much more detail was given to the searching and finding of the nest, and the 
reader is referred to the article, as peculiarly enough the bird was omitted from 
North’s standard work on Nests and Eggs. 
Though there is not much new in a note by Ramsay it may be cited 
as it is interesting from the son of the discoverer of the species. “ At 
Camp I. (in the Upper Clarence River District, N.S.W.) Atrichornis were 
seen at three places. They are very local and may be found constantly 
about the same spot ; but though they may be easily called out of the 
undergrowth and seen for a moment or two, it is with great difficulty 
that they may be watched for any length of time. I have stood for half an 
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