WHITE-THROATED THICKHEAD. 
the males) are found in Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria. In 
Tasmania there is a very similar bird, P. glaucura, but it has a grey tail. P. 
pectoralis is a very quiet bird and is rather hard to find in this district. Some- 
times I have watched a pair in the low branches of a eucalyptus, and so 
silently did they find their food that a passer-by would never know that the 
birds were in the tree. They are very insectivorous, and seem to live on those 
insects that live on boughs of trees. However, food is often obtained on the 
ground and consists of small caterpillars and sometimes a small worm. They 
are very trustful, and have a rich, soft song. They are heard at their best 
here in autumn. The male is tame, but not so trustful as the hen. I have had 
them sitting in a small tree not more than three feet from me. To look at 
the hen she is like Golluricincla harmonica, only much smaller. She has shining 
dark eyes and dark bill, the legs also dark. In the south of Victoria they are 
more plentiful. They are only seen here in the autumn and winter, and do not 
breed as I have never seen any of their nests. The first pair arrived here in 
1908 on April 15 and left at the end of August.” 
Mr. Edwin Ashby’s notes read : “ Pachycephala occidentalis is very common 
in the Adelaide Hills. I have also met with it at Kangaroo Island, South 
Australia, and at Albany, West Australia. The song of this species is very 
rich, sweet and varied ; some of the notes are, I believe, quite or nearly as 
full and sweet as the song of the Nightingale in England. While the bird has a 
great range of note these are not produced as a consecutive series. The period 
of full song always appears to me very short.” 
Mr. E. E. Howe writes : “ This glorious songster is very numerous along 
the gullies and prefers the dense scrubs of tea-tree. Here they build their nests 
about October and November. At Ringwood, Dec. 18, 1909, Mr. J. Ross 
and I found a nest containing young. Both parents appeared, and we were 
surprised to notice that the male was in immature plumage. At 4 The Basin,’ 
Dandenong Ranges, I noticed a male sitting on a nest. He allowed me to get 
quite close before flushing, and when he did leave disclosed to my eyes three 
young just hatched.” 
Mr. Tom Carter states : 44 The Western Thickhead is rather commonly 
resident from Geraldton to the south coast. Their song consists of three quick 
single notes, followed by a sharp 4 whit.’ Birds in immature plumage sing 
and, I think, also breed.” 
Writing of the Mallee form E. E. Wilson observed : 44 Pachycephala 
meridionalis, Mallee Thickhead. This Thickhead, which Mr. A. J. North 
described, frequented a densely scrubbed sandhill, south of Kow Plains, where 
it associated with the Red-throated species, P. gilberti. Although possessing 
the same habits and calls as P. pectoralis, its nest is somewhat differently 
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