WHITE-THROATED ELY-ROBIN. 
Nest. “ Compactly built. Cup-shaped structure, composed of fine strips of bark and 
fibres, lined with fine fibres, pendent pieces of white paper bark on the outside.” 
(Macgilhvray.) 
Eggs. Clutch, two ; “colour greenish- white, marked all over with reddish dots or spots, 
but closer together on the thicker end.” (Ramsay. ) 
Breeding -season. December to January. 
Dealing with a collection of birds from the Upper Aroa River, New Guinea, 
Messrs. Rothschild and Hartert observed : “ The specimens from Cape York 
(Queensland) have not only the chin, but nearly the whole throat, for about 
1 cm. white, and the pileum is slightly more blackish. This form may be 
named Pcecilodryas leucops albigularis subsp. nov. Type from Cape York.” 
They had mentioned previously that they had Cape York birds, but the 
first record seems to be that of Hall who included the species in his Key Birds 
Austr ., p. 15, 1899. 
Macgilhvray then added : “ Not a common species at Cape York, only 
one pair being noted, in a big patch of scrub about 4J miles from Lockerbie. 
This pair frequented the same locality for three months before nesting. They 
are very quiet birds, and only once in the three months did Mr. McLennan 
hear their call, which was a short, harsh ‘ Chee-chee-chee.’ When I was 
watching them they would often fly to within a few feet of where I was sitting 
and cling motionless to the side of a tree, a habit identical with that of the 
Yellow-breasted Shrike Robin, of Victoria. The nest was placed in a lawyer 
vine, about 10 feet from the ground, and contained two eggs. I sat down 
some distance away and waited for the birds to return. After waiting for 
about half an hour I saw one of the birds fly to a tree about 10 feet from the 
nest. It sat there for about ten minutes, then flew to within a couple of feet 
of the nest. As soon as I moved, it dropped from the nest and fluttered away 
through the undergrowth.” He later added : “ Though rare at Cape York, 
this is quite common in the scrubs along the Claudie. It is usually found low 
down in the scrub, and has a habit of clinging to the side of a tree-stem. One 
became quite used to us at our top camp, and would visit us at mealtimes, 
perching on tent-peg or rope. The first nest noted was in the scrub over the 
river from our main camp. Mr. McLennan found it before our arrival, but the 
birds deserted it, leaving one egg. The next was in scrub down the river ; 
this was only 3 feet from the ground, in a slender scrub. It was a compactly 
built, cup -shaped structure, and then contained one egg ; another was laid 
on the following day, the 27th December. Another nest in course of construction 
on the 20th December contained two eggs on the 2nd January. Another nest 
on the 18th January contained two newly-hatched young at 5 feet from the 
ground. A nest found 30 feet up also contained two eggs. This nest was 
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