WHITE-THROATED THICKHEAD. 
although it is rather thinly dispersed, is to be met with in every variety of 
situation, the crowns of the hills and the deep and most secluded gullies being 
alike visited by it. It frequently descends to the ground in search of insects, 
but the leafy branches of the trees, particularly those of a low growth, are the 
situations to which it gives the preference. The adult male, like most other 
birds of attractive plumage, is of a shy disposition ; hence there is much more 
difficulty in obtaining a glimpse of that sex in the woods than of the sombre - 
coloured and comparatively tame female, or even of the young males of the year, 
which during this period wear a similar kind of livery to that of the latter. The 
actions of this species are somewhat peculiar, and unlike those of most other 
insectivorous birds, it pries about the leafy branches of the trees, and leaps 
from twig to twig in the most agile manner possible, making all the while a most 
scrutinising search for insects, particularly coleoptera. When the male exposes 
himself, as he occasionally does, on some bare twig, the rich yellow of his plumage, 
offering a strong contrast to the green of the surrounding foliage, renders him 
a conspicuous and doubtless highly attractive object to his sombre -coloured 
mate, who generally accompanies him. He utters a loud whistling call of a 
single note several times repeated, by which his presence is often detected.” 
Chisholm’s account is valuable : “ The opinion is held by some that the 
Yellow-breasted Whistler’s notes are more melodious than those of the 
Rufous-breasted species. One can disagree entirely with this contention, and 
yet admire P. gutturalis as a sweet- voiced bird. What its strain lacks is 
continuity. On Tambourine Mountain (South Queensland) last spring (1915) 
however, a settler called our attention to the finely sustained song of a 
Yellow-breasted Whistler. 4 Is not that just like the opening notes of a gavotte ? ’ 
he remarked . . . The sexes seem always to separate at the end of summer. 
Time after time I have watched solitary males and females respectively, but 
only on one occasion (9th May, 1915) have I seen a mated pair between the end 
of March and the beginning of September. Each bird spends its time chiefly 
in working among the leaf insects of the eucalypts. An indication of its presence 
(and of the value of the work) is given by the constant 4 Crack-crack V in the 
trees it frequents ... A creature of curious impulses, the female sometimes 
remains quiet for hours at a time, and on other occasions becomes melodious. 
I first began to pay close attention to these birds in April 1914. On the 14th, 
one emitted its rich, spasmodic calls 4 Whee ! wee-wee ! ’ and then came 
down and 4 Charr-charred ’ at me so much in the manner of a chiding Yellow- 
breasted Shrike-Robin ( Eopsaltria australis ) that one of these birds excitedly 
flew up to investigate. After that it became apparent to me that the grey- 
garbed bird with the touch of red in the wings was really a beautiful autumnal 
melodist. It is not straining at a fancy to say that the bar most frequently 
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