THE BIRDS OF AUSTRALIA. 
but the drier country of medium growth. Especially is it fond of timber- 
clumps just bordering a plain or large clearing. 
“ Its voice is heard oftenest in the spring, and is a double call repeated, it 
may be, a dozen times or more, not unmusical : this call has given rise to the 
name Peter-peter. In this district [Geelong, Victoria] it is sometimes called 
Spink or Sphinx. 
“ In nearly every case, if the birds have a nest with eggs and are 
watched, one of them will eventually fly directly to it — a habit which is 
rarely noted in other birds.” 
Mr. J. P. Rogers has sent me the following nesting-notes of the species 
in the north-west : “ In West Kimberley these birds are more numerous on 
the coast than inland, although at both Marngle Creek and Mungi Rock Hole 
these birds were plentiful and apparently they are not migratory. A nest 
found on the fourth of October was still unfinished on the eleventh, though 
the birds were at it each day. Another nest found on Nov. 24th had two 
blind, naked young with feathers just coming through the skin. On the 3rd 
December these were flying. On Nov. 24th a nest which had been found on 
September 4th, nearly finished, was missing, apparently having been pulled 
to pieces to build another nest. Similarly, the nest found on the fourth of 
October was deserted as far as could be seen on the 20th, but on the 31st the 
birds were back at the nest, and while I was watching them a Halcyon sanctus 
settled on the tree in which the nest was placed, and both Flycatchers flew 
at the Kingfisher as if to attack it, uttering squeaky notes, but then settled 
on a branch a couple of feet away and after a few moments flew away, and 
on the 15th November the nest was still deserted ; the birds may be waiting 
for a good fall of rain. On Dec. 17th a nest was found placed in fork of a paper- 
bark tree twelve feet from the ground ; my attention was drawn to the nest 
by the bird attacking a small yellowish -green tree-lizard which was climbing 
to the limb the nest was placed in. The bird drove the lizard away. The 
nest contained two much incubated eggs. Several other nests were found, 
generally placed in forks in small paper-bark trees from six to twelve feet 
from the ground. The nests were built of fine strips and stems of grasses, 
some rootlets and a few horse-hairs, but no lining ; the materials bound 
together with cobwebs and fastened to the tree with the same. Inside 
dimensions were from If to If inches across by about half an inch in depth. 
The eggs were usually two in number, but sometimes only one was laid and 
incubated.” 
The above notes refer to the subspecies, M. f. subpallida Mathews, a 
distinct form, as will be shown hereafter. 
This species was classed in Myiagra, a genus introduced by themselves 
68 
